How could I not?
by ICanSeeYourFace
Summary: Sequel to "I think I may have loved you". Takes up a few months after the end of ItImhly. Rory's off the campaign trail, and is going back to Philly, to Jess. An impromptu trip to Stars Hollow becomes the catalyst for multiple happenings.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Yeah! I'm finally getting somewhere with the funky writer's block. It took one very annoying song and I was off, and for that I had to incorporate said song into this. Anyway, I hope you like it, and I'll update whenever I can. I'm getting to writing my thesis so don't expect too many speedy updates. I have chapter two more or less ready to go, but after that it will just be updates whenever I have the time and inspiration. Anyway, enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I won't even pretend to own YouTube. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_1. Wrongs and rights_

He wanted a place to call their own. Sure, it was fun to have Rory live with him and the guys whenever she was home, but Jess still had the feeling that it wasn't their place. They couldn't be themselves all the time, because there was always someone knocking down doors, proclaiming something or other, and always when he wanted to be alone with Rory. The final blow came when Matt and Chris found an annoying tune on YouTube, some insipid song called "The Hamsterdance". It had been fine the first time, even the second and the third. After that it was just straight out torture to hear it. It got even worse when Matt and Chris couldn't go a day, even an hour without humming that stupid tune. Rory just laughed at him, occasionally teasing him by humming along, but she didn't protest when Jess laid down the ultimatum of either moving in together in an apartment of their own, or assasinating Matt and Chris.

They found a good apartment just blocks away from Truncheon, with a coffeeshop on the corner that Rory had approved of. ("Hey, do you really want to risk me not getting coffee?"). The first few months, though, Rory didn't live there much. She was out on the campaign trail until the end of November. She had wanted to quit or at least be reassigned to Philly after the election, but both her boss and Jess convinced her to stay on for a while longer.

"Come on," Jess had said. "You didn't live out of a suitcase and gang up with me again just to drop out when the fun begins."

She had actually believed him. What could be worse than endless bustrips, drafty hotelrooms and hours upon hours of debates, speeches and interviews? Answer: Doing follow ups. She zoomed back and forth to places she had already been, stayed in the same drafty rooms and interviewed people who either said they knew this would happen or that it would all go to hell in a handbasket. It was tiresome, and she ended up counting down the days to when she could return to Philadelphia, to Jess (so she could kick his butt for convincing her to go through this torture), to some form of normality and, hopefully, to a new job. She had talked to her boss, and he was more than willing to write her a good recommendation. She had already sent applications and resumés to a number of papers serving Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia City Paper among others. She hadn't heard anything yet, and she was starting to worry that she would be unemployed once she got back.

When the big day came for her to return, Rory was feeling jittery. She couldn't sit still, and she was restless, feeling that the bus she was on was going so slow it had to be illegal. She had called ahead and told Jess to come pick her up, and she had sensed something in his voice.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" she had asked.

"Nope." he had answered.

"Monosyllabic as ever, I see."

"Someone's cranky. I'll bring you coffee."

"You're changing the subject."

"There is no subject."

"Jess."

"Rory."

"Talk to me."

"Talking." he quipped.

"Is it me?" Rory asked nervously.

Silence.

"It's me, isn't it?"

"We'll talk later. I'll bring you coffee. See you soon."

"_He didn't even say 'I love you'…"_ Rory thought gloomily as she put away her cell.

When she got off the bus she was ready for a full-on confrontation with Jess. In the ten minutes that had gone by she had managed to convince herself that Jess was upset with her, and that they would fight, and she even got as far as thinking how she would tell her mom and grandparents in case things turned bad. Lorelai had gotten used to the idea of Rory dating Jess ("…again!"), and Luke had been quite quick on the uptake, too. Her grandparents… Well, they were Richard and Emily, so she knew what to expect. Emily had looked like she had smelled something foul when Rory told them she was back together with Jess over a weekend when she had time off, and her and Jess had headed home to Stars Hollow. Richard was slightly happier to hear this, sounding very impressed with Jess, once he got it out of him that he had written a book. Richard had even requested a copy. To be honest, Rory thought her grandfather seemed surprised at Jess being so… perfect. She suspected Emily had told Richard about the screwed-up dinner when Jess showed up with a black eye. And Emily being Emily, she probably exaggerated a bit.

* * *

She felt a bit disoriented at first, Philadelphia still felt new to her, but as soon as she saw Jess, sitting on a bench with two coffees and a book in his hand, she smiled, putting aside whatever worrying thoughts she had. He had coffee, and a book, it couldn't be that bad, she reasoned. She rushed toward him, dropping her bags as they joined in a wild hug, folllowed by kisses that didn't really go where they were supposed to. Jess was smiling, a broad, sly smile, and he felt like he was finally getting back to being himself. He hugged her tighter, clutching the book he held harder.

"So, what have you done?" Rory asked. "Or what have I done? Both could work, and I want to be sure."

"Coffee, definitely." Jess answered, handing her a cup.

"Don't change subject, mister!"

"What's with the accusation? Nothing's wrong."

"You have the look, Jess."

"Oh, I have a look now?" he asked playfully.

"Yes, the 'I just faked a murder outside Doose's'-look." Rory said and looked demandingly at him.

"Good one." Jess mused.

"Jess… Is something wrong?"

"You're a lot of work, Gilmore."

"Is that it? You're already weary of me?"

"...and you jump to conclusions."

"But…" she began, but he silenced her with a kiss.

"You be silent. Breathe, drink coffee, and if you're a good little Gilmore I have a surprise for you."

"Oh, I love surprises!"

"Why am I not surprised…"

* * *

They walked back to Jess' car, a newer one that wouldn't make Gypsy hum and grunt whenever she saw it. They loaded Rory's bags in the back seat and drove to their apartment. It felt good to be home, or at least a lot closer to home. She had trouble calling Philadelphia home, she hadn't been there long enough. Home was still Stars Hollow. The gazebo, their bridge, Luke's, the Crap Shack, the townspeople, and all the shindigs. Her mom, Luke, Sookie, Lane and Zach, even Michel and Kirk… She felt sad that it had been such a long time since she had been in Stars Hollow.

"Jess?" she asked just as they parked outside the apartmentbuilding where they lived.

"No, nothing's wrong and whatever comes out next might lose you that surprise." he said irritably.

"Could we go to Stars Hollow?"

He was slightly stumped by this, regretting how irrtated he had sounded. It wasn't like Stars Hollow represented his prime years, but there was still something… _"Like the fact that it's Rory's home…"_ he thought.

"Sure." he said, and smiled at her, giving her a light kiss on her cheek. "Come on, now."

"Which one would you like first?"

"What, there are two surprises?" she asked.

"Technically…" he began, then interrupting himself. "Yeah, there are two surprises."

"Meanie!" she said. "I'll take the one you would give me first."

"Sure you don't want to…"

"What have I said about mocking my lists?"

"Fine, don't get your pants in a twist…"

Jess unlocked the door to their apartment, letting Rory enter first. It was… a kind of home. More of a place just for her and Jess, where they could do things their way, without songs by hamsters, prying room mates or the tornado that was her mother. It was a simple two bedroom apartment, with a small kitchen and large livingroom. Their books took up the majority of one of the walls, and Jess' music and moviecollection had it's own place by the tv set. She breathed in the familiar scent of Jess, Chinese takeout and detergent, which meant Jess had actually managed to operate the washing machine without her. She turned around, hugged Jess and kissed him softly, murmuring between the kisses:

"It's good to be home…"

Jess smiled, put down his book on a small table next to the door, and deepened the kiss, and like so many times before, they ended up on the sofa, caught up in the moment, only sensing each other. She was all he had ever asked or wished for, and she had come back to him after he thought he would be out of her life for ever. He nuzzled up against the soft skin above her collarbone, slowly breathing in the scent of her, hearing her sigh softly.

"I seem to remember something about surprises." Rory whispered to him.

"Yeah, I have the same recollection." he answered. "Why are you whispering?"

She broke down in chuckles, and Jess couldn't help but smile. He got up from the sofa and disappeared into their bedroom. Rory was excited, she was here, Jess was here, nothing was wrong, and they would go to Stars Hollow. She streched out on the sofa, feeling content with herself.

When Jess came back, he gave her a letter. She felt a bit disappointed, she had expected more than a letter.

"See what's inside it." Jess urged her.

She opened the letter, not really knowing what to expect. She could see three pieces of paper inside, and she pulled out the first.

"Dear Ms. Gilmore," she read. "Your application to The Philadelphia Inquirer was received, and We would like to schedule an interview with you as soon as possible. Call Us and We will set down a time suitable for you. Sincerly… Oh my God!"

She stared at the paper. She had a job offer! Or well, she had a job interview!

"This is great!" she shouted, jumping up to hug Jess.

"There's more." he said, and nudged her.

She sat down again, pulling out another paper.

"Dear Ms. Gilmore... Would like to schedule… You're kidding me right?"

"Yeah, I just stopped by their office, nicked their stationary and faked the letter. Very me."

"You faked a murder."

"I was 17, and for the record, you thought it was fun." he commented.

"I can't believe this. Do I even want to look at the last?"

"I think you might."

She pulled out the last paper, and she only needed to read the first line to break down in whining fits of joy.

"Philadelphia City Paper wants me!"

"I know." Jess said, a smirk on his face. "It might not have dawned on you, miss Investigating Journalist, but I opened your letters before you."

"I would normally hate you for that, but I'm too excited now."

"I'll have something to look forward to." he joked.

"The other! I want the other surprise!" Rory demanded, jumping up and down like a little child.

Jess went over to the table by the door and got the book, which he handed her.

"You got me a book?" she asked, and looked at the cover.

He could see how her eyebrows arch, and her mouth form a surprised O.

"_Can you hear silence fall?_, Jess Mariano... You finished and printed your book while I was gone?"

"I did, and there's more."

"I don't think I can take much more of you 'mores'" she joked.

"Check the dedication."

She opened the book, flipping quickly to the dedicationpage.

_To the girl who gave me two of the most brutal wake-up calls known to man. (If you meet her, give her coffee and hope for the best.) Once again, I couldn't have done this without you, and you know I will be your Dodger for as long as you want to._

She gave a loud, piercing scream, and seconds later she was in his arms, calling out "thank you!" and "I love you!" until they became silent kisses.

"Are you happy?" Jess asked her, when they broke off the kiss.

"As happy as I could ever get, Jess."

"Good." he smiled. "So, when do you want to go to the SH?"

"The SH? My, my, aren't we urban?"

"I've been bored."

"You don't think I have?" she said accusingly. "I've been hopscotching around the country doing stuff so boring and repetitive I'd rather watch Kate Hudson's suicide scene in _Almost Famous_ for the rest of my life, and you convinced me! I should hate you!"

"But you're too happy, and thank God for that. Another thing I have to look forward to. Twice struck by the wrath of Rory Gilmore, won't I be quite a macho man if I survive that."

"You have strange pleasures." she laughed.

"Not all of them…" he murmured, kissing her again.

* * *

"We get side-tracked too easily." Rory mock complained when they resurfaced for air.

"Where were we?"

"The SH. And… could we go today already?"

"Can't. I have the evening shift at Truncheon. How about I make a preliminary promise of early tomorrow, and I'll try to get Chris on my side, it's way easier to battle Matt if it's two against one."

"You're a regular Sun Tzu."

"And you love me for it."

"You bring me coffee, books, and job interviews. How could I not?"

"Speaking of job… I gotta go, duty calls."

"Sure, go ahead." Rory answered, giving him one last kiss before Jess took his jacket and moved to leave. "Don't publish any books while you're there!"

Jess smirked.

"You're really gonna hold that against me, aren't you?"

"I'm a Gilmore, why should I not?"

While Jess was gone, Rory took to unpacking her stuff, and she was amazed at how much she had actually brought with her. She found at least five books, two of which she had no memory of packing, there were unopened gum packs, magazines, old newspapers and at the bottom of her suitcase she found clothes she hadn't even used.

"The things I learn from my mother…" she muttered as she put the unused clothes back into her wardrobe.

It felt good unpacking, putting her books in her very own section of her and Jess' bookwall. They had to have sections, because Rory couldn't come to terms with her O. Henry sitting next to Jess' Hemingway. He had found the whole debate ridiculous, saying that he had no problem with his Rabelais sitting next to her Rand, but she wouldn't give in. She brought up the time where Dean wouldn't answer the peperoni, and hearing Dean's name was enough for Jess to relent, and they split the wall up in one Jess-section and one Rory-section.

After unpacking, she sat down in the sofa, pulled a blanket over herself and dived into Jess' new book. She stopped to look at the dedication one more time, smiling at his remark about giving her coffee. Her mom would like that, and Rory made a mental note to get Lorelai a copy for Christmas. She began reading, noticing that Jess had applied a completely different style to his story. It was still a sequel to _The Subsect_, but it was like turning the whole thing around. She paused for a while after having read the first three chapters, searching for a pen. She had reluctantly taken to adopting Jess' art of margin writing, but writing in the margin of his book felt more… justified, than scribbling something in a Jane Austen. Rory returned to the sofa, pulling out the book again, skimming through the chapters she had already read, making notes, underlining words or expressions she liked. She loved his new book, and the more she read, the more proud she became. Her Jess had done this.

* * *

She was still reading when Jess quitely opened the door. Still, Rory heard him, and she put down the book, and came over to greet him with a kiss.

"You're late." she remarked.

"Yeah, I know. We had a bit of a situation, Matt trying to get his Cedar Bar Redux again, it sparked a debate that I involuntarily was drawn into. Lucky thing is, Chris sided with me, so we have an entire week to spend in Stars Hollow."

"Really?"

He could see she was happy, and seeing her happy made him happy. _"I'm such a sap…"_ he thought amusingly to himself. She had an influence over him, but he gladly stayed under it.

"Yup," he answered. "You'll have plenty of time to catch up with your mom and Lane, and you can go crazy over the job interviews and Luke can fuss over your eating habits. It'll be like we never left."

"We?"

"Well, I left. And you left. Meaning we. Do I really have to get into this any deeper?"

"I love you, Jess."

"Love you, too, Rory. So, get packing, we leave ridiculously early tomorrow."

"I take back my previous statement." Rory teased.

"Yeah? What can I do to persuade you to set your alarm for 'ridiculously early'?" Jess asked suggestively.

"I have a couple of ideas…" she responded in the same tone, and started backing towards their bedroom.

She didn't need to say anything more. He set the alarm on his phone, and then followed her into the bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Chapter two, and we're off to Stars Hollow. If anyone is interested in what Apocalyptica-song Jess is playing the car, it's a song called "Somewhere around nothing", google it on YouTube and imagine hearing that early in the morning, full blast, when you want to sleep… I couldn't resist bringing in something Finnish into this story, I'm a Finn so... :D Also, this chapter contains a special appearance by someone from Jess' past... ;)

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I won't even pretend to own YouTube. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_2. Rematch_

"Rory."

Rory groaned, and turned around, hoping to avoid anymore pokes and calls for her.

"Rory… Come on, it's wakey-wakey."

"What..?" she whined, slowly opening her eyes.

The room was dusky, and but she could still make out Jess' figure in the room.

"Why are you wearing gloves?" she asked him, puzzled.

"Oh, you bit me the first time. You should've warned me." Jess answered with a smirk.

"I bit you? Shoot, I'm becoming more and more like my mom."

"Like the fast talking, the coffee-drinking and the insane food habits didn't already point to that?"

"Shut up. What time is it?"

"Trust me, you really don't wanna know." he said, and gave her a kiss. "Come on, I've got coffee ready, we'll pack later, seeing as we didn't get much done yesterday, and then we can leave."

She groaned again, knowing that since he hadn't said how early it was, it had to be an extremely ungodly hour, and she tried her best not to look at anything that could tell her what time it was.

* * *

An hour later, after much packing debate, the two headed out to the car, and Rory looked forward to being able to sleep all the way to Stars Hollow. She wasn't much of a car-sleeper, but it was still early, and she was desperate for sleep. However, her hopes were crushed when the car stereo came to life.

"What the hell is this?" Rory asked over the loud music.

"It's a Finnish band called Apocalyptica. I found it when I was surfing YouTube trying to find something to annoy Matt and Chris with, seeing as they found that freaking hamster-song there."

"And you chose this? I'm sorry, but it' not annoying, just very, very loud and… What are they playing, and when does the singing begin?"

"That's the beauty, there is no singing. Just three dudes who play the cello. They mix rock and heavy metal with classical music, it's awesome."

"Three dudes playing the cello? Where the heck does the drums come from then?"

"Apparantly they just hired a guy for the drumming."

"So there are four dudes?"

"You know your math."

"And you seem to know an awful lot about them." she pointed out.

"Do you Yahoo?" he simply answered, smiling widely when she remembered this remark.

* * *

Four hours later, they pulled up in front of the Crap Shack, and Rory was out of the car before Jess had even turned the engine off.

"House!" Rory yelled, running up the porch. "Good old Crap Shack, I missed you!"

"You're a safety hazard, and I can't believe I just said that about you, Gilmore." Jess said when he reached the porch.

"Coming from the guy who used to smoke, faked a murder and got into a car accident, where I broke my wrist." Rory teased.

"Am I ever going to get past hearing about what I did when I was young?"

"Not in this town, I'd say you're lucky if Taylor doesn't come running at you with a paper that certifies him to banish you."

"Hey, I wasn't that bad."

"I'll put in a good word for you. Come on, we'll dump our stuff and go to the inn.

They unpacked, loading everything in Rory's old room. Rory felt like she had never left it, except that her book collection here was a bit thinner than it used to be. Her bed was made, Colonel Clucker was sitting on it, and her Yale-wall was still there, despite the fact that she had graduated.

"We met here." Jess said behind her.

"Yeah. You told me you didn't read much, then you nicked my copy of Howl and befouled it."

"I take offense to that, I improved it."

"Quite an ego you have there, mister."

"I'm a writer, why shouldn't I have?"

He kissed her, backing towards the bed, and it creaked when they fell down in it. Rory felt like she wanted to stay there forever, it was a perfect moment. She felt her breathing get heavier when Jess began trailing her face and her neck with a feather light touch. He knew she liked it, and he saw her bite her lip, while she ran her fingers through his messy hair.

"We… should really… go." Rory said a few minutes later, feeling her cheeks heating.

"I'm doing some of my best work here, and you want to go?" Jess asked her, mock hurt.

"I just… It doesn't feel like the right time…" she said and blushed.

They hadn't had sex yet, there had always been something or someone interrupting. While they were still living above Truncheon, there were Matt and Chris, who had the annoying habit of entering without knocking and not learning to knock even after the tenth time. Other times it was just… timing. She was stressed, or he was stressed, or there wasn't enough time. She wanted it to be perfect, and Jess was willing to wait.

"It's okey." he smiled. "I don't think your rooster approves of us anyway."

"What, Colonel Clucker?"

Rory turned and saw that her stuffed rooster was now all askew, with his face turned towards them.

"You're right. We'd better leave before he beaks us." she joked.

"Don't talk to me about beaks, I was traumatized!"

"Come on then, or I might just traumatize you more. We'll take a shortcut to the inn, and I promise you won't see anything on the way there that resembles a swan."

"I'll hold you to that…"

* * *

They set out, Rory leading the way. When they came to the little footbridge, Jess stopped dead.

"What is it?" Rory asked him.

"That." he responded sternly, pointing at something behind her.

She turned around, seeing a family of ducks swimming out from under the bridge.

"Oh, the Armbrewster's…"

"The who?"

"No, the Armbrewster's. Yeah, I forgot about them." Rory said smilingly.

"They're birds." Jess said, looking darkly at the birds that were lazily swimming around in the water.

"Very observant."

"You said I wouldn't have to see anything resembling a swan."

"They're ducks!" Rory tried.

"They have feathers, and beaks, and they swim."

"You're three, now come on."

"Fine… But I'll hold you liable to any bird-related injuries.

They were just about to cross the bridge, when another bird swam out from beneath it, but it wasn't another member of the Armbrewster-clan. Jess' eyes widened, and again, he stopped dead.

"You've got to be kidding me…"

"Hey, I did not know there were any swans here!" Rory tried to defend herself.

"That's just not any swan…" Jess said, his eyed fixed on the bright white bird. "That is the swan."

"The one that beaked you?"

"I'd recognize that beak anywhere."

"And he ganged up with the Armbrewster's?" Rory mused. "That's new, they usually don't let strangers in. Seems their morals went right out the window. Or water."

Jess walked back a bit, picking up a large branch, still looking straight at his nemesis.

"You know what this means, pal… Rematch, and this time, you can bet your feathery ass that it's personal…"

* * *

Lorelai was having a perfectly normal day. She was standing in the kitchen, drinking coffee and talking to Sookie, when Michel walked in, looking surly at her.

"Lorelai. Your offspring has arrived with a gangster in tow. Would you please remove them from my sight and make sure the boy does not give us water damage."

"What?" Lorelai exclaimed, looking at Sookie.

"I had nothing to do with it!" Sookie said defendingly, managing to cut herself on the knife she was chopping vegetables with.

"Lorelai!" Michel said pointedly.

"Coming, Michel. God, you're needy today..."

She followed him out to the reception area, where she saw Rory stand, along with a dripping wet Jess, who looked like he wanted to kill someone.

"Loinfruit!" Lorelai exlaimed, and the two girls flung their arms around each other. "What are you doing here babe, and why does it look like Jess went for a swim and forgot to take his clothes off?"

"Mom! I came back to Philadelphia yesterday, and I just wanted to visit you, it was such a long time ago. So I convinced Jess, and he took some time off from Truncheon, and here we are."

"Still doesn't explain his state." Lorelai said and nodded towards Jess.

"Oh, yeah, he had a bit of a harsh encounter with the Armbrewster's and their newest clanmember."

"No..! They reproduced again?"

"More like recruited." Jess chipped in. "That freaking swan has not seen the last of me…"

"Swan? I thought we were talking about the Armbrewster's"

"You remember his black eye? Well, turned out he was beaked…"

"Beaked?"

"Yes, beaked. In the eye, by a swan." Jess said.

"Yeah," Rory continued. "Now apparantly, that swan has nestled his or her way into the Armbrewster clan. We thought we'd stop by here and say hello, and it was forever since I took the shortcut, and I sort of forgot about the Armbrewster's, and when we came there, Jess saw the swan, and planned to give it a piece of his mind, but the swan made a last minute evasive manouver, and Jess fell in. I actually think Armbrewster Sr laughed at him."

"Don't remind me…" Jess groaned.

"Well, that does it, never trust the Armbrewster's. They actually had a calm period not too long ago, perhaps they were negotiating with the swan." Lorelai suggested.

"Lorelai!" Michel shouted from the desk. "The hooligan is destroying the floor."

Lorelai went over to the desk, took a key and returned to the two.

"Here, the room is empty, you can use the shower and I'll call Luke and casually tell him to bring some makeshift clothes for you, while completely ignoring his loud outbursts of surprise." she said, ignoring Michel's wild protests.

"Thanks Lorelai." Jess answered, and disappeared up the stairs.

"Come on Rory, Sookie's in the kitchen, and she has a stash of chocolate chip mudcake with your name on it hidden in a cupboard." Lorelai smiled, and hugged her daughter again as they walked into the kitchen.

* * *

**A/N**: Yeah, I know I said "no speedy updates", but this chapter was more or less ready when I put up the first, but now it's totally incognito... or something. There is no chapter 3 yet, haven't really had time to write now, and from here on I'll just write what I can, when I can. The suggestion box that I so officially opened after finishing "I think I may have loved you" is still open, so if there's something you want to see in this fic, a moment, a person, you name it (and I'll try it!), put it in a review or a PM. Wow, am I not fishing for reviews here... Oh well, they make me happy, and keep me going, and you want me to go on with the story, right? Right?


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Sorry for the slow update, I've been stuck reading "Twilight" over and over, plus as I've pointed out before, I have my thesis coming up. It's waving at me from the horizon of promise, and I'm trying to connect with it. Once I actually get to writing it, I'll probably find a good rhythm, and my updates will be a little less… sporadic. Anyway, new chapter here, and I hope you enjoy it. Browniepoints for those who checked the Apocalyptica-song in the previous chapter. Reviews keep me happy, you know how to use the button.

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_3. Unfinished sentences and business_

It wasn't until Jess had closed the door behind him that he realized how much he was freezing. It wasn't like it was summer anymore, the water had been cold, and he was surprised he'd been able to ignore the coldness until now. He unbuckled his belt as he walked into the bathroom, and let his pants drop to the floor with a loud slosh. That noise had always amused him, and he smiled widely, before quickly pulling off the rest of his clothes and stepping into the shower. He let the hot water run over his body, which was surprisingly numb from the cold water.

Ten minutes later, he almost felt human again. A knock on the door woke him up from his warmwater-induced haze, and he stepped out, draped a towel round his hips and went to open the door. No surprise, it was Luke standing outside, with a paperbag under one arm.

"Luke," Jess said. "Come in."

"Yeah, why say 'hello', or even call ahead to say you're coming over. Oh no, let's just fall into a freaking pond and then have Lorelai call me and tell me you're here and to bring clothes, and then hang up on me before I even have time to ask what the hell she was talking about."

"Hey, Rory came home yesterday and asked if we could come here. I said yes, because she's been out on the road for way too long, and I'm happy to come back to the town that loathed me, just so she can have some quality freak-out time with Lorelai."

"Yeah, that much I could gather…" Luke muttered and shoved the paper bag into Jess' arms. "Here. Some of your old stuff that you so convieniently left. Don't know if it all fits, but it was all I could find."

"I only need it to get back to Rory's. Jeez, you make it sound like that…" he said, and pointed with his foot towards the wet pile of clothes in the bathroom. "…would be the only pieces of clothes I own."

"How long are you two staying here?" Luke asked as he dressed.

"Don't know, a week I think. Depends on Rory, and how much time she needs to get back to normal. She didn't like being out on the road again."

"Like that would be a surprise…" Luke grunted. "Stuck in a small, stinking bus, that's enough to make anyone claustrophobic."

"And I made her go." Jess said, feeling guilty. "I shouldn't have, she was tired of it and wanted to quit after the election, but I convinced her to go on."

"Why?"

"I don't know! I've been asking myself the same question ever since she got back on that freaking campaign trail. I thought it was because I needed time to adjust to the fact that I would be living with her, but how the hell was I supposed to do that when she wasn't there and I missed her like crazy every night!"

"Didn't really think that one through, huh?" Luke commented.

"Obviously not…" Jess answered with a grunt.

"So… Last time we talked, you…"

"Yeah." he interrupted. "It's fixed, I'm just…"

"Yeah, I know… You think..?"

"I don't know. Thanks for the clothes Luke."

"Anytime. See you round, Jess. Maybe there's a whole sentence waiting for us somewhere." Luke teased.

* * *

Jess dressed quickly, and went downstairs and into the kitchen, where Rory sat on a stool with a plate full of something that looked like chocolate-cake. She was smiling widely, munching away at the cake.

"Mom, when you said there was a piece of cake for me with my name on it, I didn't think you meant it literally."

"Hey, it was the only thing that kept Michel from cheating on his diet. Me too, come to think of it." Lorelai responded.

"You're on a diet?" Sookie asked, still chopping vegetables.

"God no, I just needed a good reason not to eat it all."

"And having me putting Rory's name on it helped? Perhaps that would've saved Clyde…"

"Clyde?" Lorelai asked confused.

"Yours and Max's wedding cake. It was heartbreaking to throw him away…" Sookie said dreamily.

"Jess!"

Rory had spotted him where he stood just inside the door, smirking at them.

"Oh, if it isn't the prodigal, reformed hoodlum!" Sookie greeted him.

"Hey, Sookie." he greeted her back.

The girls got back to eating cake and chatting, so Jess excused himself and said he'd return home to change clothes.

"As much as I know you love me in my old Metallica t-shirt, I prefer my slightly more sophisticated look." he teased Rory.

"Excuse me, Jess Mariano, sophisticated?" Sookie interrupted. "Have I missed something?"

"Sook, remember, the keyword is reformed. I hear that comes with a new look these days." Lorelai smiled.

Jess shook his head and leaned over the counted to give Rory a kiss.

"Meet me at the Cr… the house?" he asked, not really wanting to call the house by its nickname.

"I might just be stuck here, me and Buck here are bonding for life." Rory answered and pointed with her spoon to the piece of chocolate cake on her plate.

"You're abandoning me?" he asked, mock hurt. "In Stars Hollow? Do I have to call the national guard or request witness protection so as to avoid the wrath of Taylor and his gang of lunatics?"

"Taylor has a gang now?"

"It's all very low key, I caught them trashing Taylor's garden back in the days." Jess responded in a whisper.

"He's gonna hear about that on the town meeting tonight!" Lorelai said, looking aback.

"Your funeral…" Jess muttered with a evil grin, and then exited the kitchen.

* * *

He took the regular route home, managing, as if by a miracle, to avoid any form of swans, ducks or crazy townpeople. It felt sort of suspiscious, but he didn't doubt the power of Stars Hollow's gossipmill, it was just a question of whether Babbette and Miss Patty would beat East Side Tilly to the punch. When he came to the Crap Shack, he quickly glanced over to Babbette's and Morey's. Yup, Pierpont was still there, although he was chained to a tree now. _"Nothing a good bolt clipper couldn't fix…"_ he thought mischieviously to himself, smiling at the memory of nicking the small gnome. It had just looked so stupid, a silly little gnome with an oversized pipe stuck in the mouth. And what the hell kind of name was Pierpont? When Luke had barged in yelling about where he had put Pierpont, Jess actually had to think about who the hell that could be.

He entered the house, walking quietly, although no one was home except for Paul Anka, and he didn't mind, oddly enough. He snuck into Rory's room, grabbing the bag of clothes he had dumped infront of her wardrobe. He found a pair of jeans he knew would fit him better than the ones he was wearing. From the bottom of the bag he pulled out a shirt far less consipcuous than the Metallica one. He finished his look off with the black blazer he had been wearing during the open house when Rory came to see him. He looked around her room again. Rory hadn't really lived here for years, but the room still had that feeling of belonging to her. She was ever present in the room, the Yale wall, her book collection, the mere feeling he got from standing there. He went over to the window, fidgeting with the lock, remembering how he had tried to sneak out through it. She had refused to follow him, somehow even managed to get him out of the room. He had found her so odd, so strangely fascinating. She still fascinated him, how she could stand him to begin with. Jess knew he wasn't the easiest person to live with.

His thoughts broke off when his phone rang from somewhere inside his bag.

"Mariano." he answered, not having time to check the caller-id.

"Aren't we sounding all business-like?" Rory laughed on the other end.

"Oh come on, you never get to tired of hearing my last name."

"True. So, you all decent now?"

"I'm so decent I'm feeling out of place." he answered.

"Good, 'cause mom said something about her taking an early day off, she wanted to plan her Taylor-ambush in detail, and I do not need her feeding me bad pictures."

"Like I could ever be a bad picture in your head." he scoffed.

"You have yet to spend any longer amount of time with my mom."

"Point taken. Where are you, should I get indecent?"

"No, by all means, stay decent. I'm heading over to Lane's. You wanna come by, I know Zach and you got along at that party when Hep Alien played."

"Hep Alien? They finally settled on a name?"

"I haven't told you that? I should be ashamed!"

"You should." he laughed.

"So are you coming? I think Zach could use the testosterone kick, all the babycuddling has him going all soft."

"What, babies? Zach have babies?"

"I can't believe myself!" Rory exclaimed. "I have left you seriously on the down low! Zach and Lane are married, they have kids, twins, and I'm their godmother. Are you sure I haven't said that?"

"I think I would remember Lane and Zach having kids, or at the very least them getting married."

"Then you defintely have to come. Meet me at Luke's and we'll go together, as something tells me you wouldn't find your way there…"

"I'll meet you in five." Jess said, and ended the call with a quick "Love you."

* * *

"_Zach, a dad… God help us all…"_ Jess thought and shook his head as he walked out of the house, and headed towards Luke's. But it wasn't just the fact that Zach was a dad. Zach was a married man. Zach, rock'n'roll Zach, was a married man with two babies, and what was he, Jess, doing?

"I need to fix this…" Jess muttered to himself, feeling all Luke for a second or two.

He was nearly at Luke's now, and he could see Rory waiting outside, with a wide smile on her face. Yup, he really needed to fix this…


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: So much for hoping that I'd get into a rhythm, it's kind of hard when the rhythm keep changing like a freaking changeling… Anyways, Christmas holidays are around the corner, so hopefully there will be plenty of time to do a plethora of writing, so bear with me on the sporadic updates. So, new chapter, enjoy and review! (and yes, I sort of borrowed the title from Coldplay, no infringement intended)

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_4. A rush of stupid to the head_

"Jess!" Rory exclaimed when she saw him coming towards her. "My, my, you do look sophisticated, where is my cocky rebel hiding?"

"I'm pretty sure he's in my wardrobe, along with the leather jacket." Jess smiled, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "But if it makes you feel better I'm fighting the urge to spring Pierpont free from his chains."

"Jess, you didn't…"

"Hey, I told you I was fighting it, meaning that stupid, smoking gnome is still chained to a tree."

"You're a handful." Rory sighed.

"Come on, what happened to the 'where is my cocky rebel'-tude? You like me bad."

"Yes, bad, not stupid." she joked, taking his hand. "Come on, Lane and Zach are waiting."

They began walking, Jess feeling more and more worked up about the whole visit. Lane and Zach, parents. Lane and Zach, married. Married. Babies. Family. Responsibility. Rock'n'roll? He had to shake his head to get the contradicting images to stop swirling in front of his eyes.

"So, are Hep Alien on hold now or what?" he asked carefully.

"God no, Lane wouldn't have that. She pitched a fit, stormed out and bought these gigantic earcuffs for the twins and then held bandpractice. I think she actually scared Brian with her withering stare."

"Speaking of withering stare… I haven't seen yours yet."

"And you won't, end of discussion."

"I didn't realize we were having one."

"Shush you…"

Rory hauled Jess up the stairs to the front door, and gave it a good knock. They could both hear Lane command Zach to get the door, and seconds later, the door swung open to reveal a wild-eyed Zach.

"Rory!" he said, smiling widely, before lowering his voice to a whisper. "Thank God you're here, the little missus is making me edgy."

"At ease, private!" Rory giggled, and pushed past Zach to go greet Lane.

A wild fit of giggles and shrieks ensued, and Jess had to fight the urge to out his hands over his ears.

"Jess, man, long time no see." Zach greeted, shaking Jess hand.

"Yeah, I leave town and everything goes softy." Jess joked.

"Dude, marriage and kids are rock'n'roll, look at Ozzy and Sharon!" Zach defended. "Our boys will be wreaking havoc by the time they hit puberty."

"Taylor will run you out of town..."

Both guys snickered and went into the livingroom, in time to see how the door to Lane's and Zach's room slammed shut.

"So what's up man? Heard you were living in Philly."

"Yeah." Jess answered. "I run this bookstore slash publishing house slash gallery with two friends. Or well, nutjobs would pretty much describe them at times. I'm not hauling in any large money on it, but it's a good job, and I get to write on my time off."

"Yeah, I heard that. I actually began reading that books of yours, didn't stick. Sorry, man."

"No worries, I'm not too satisified with it myself. I just got my second book out, and I'm much happier with that one."

"Yeah…" Zach said. "So you and Rory, huh? Again?"

"Yeah… And you and Lane. Married, with kids. Never thought I'd see the day."

"Dude, it's awesome. Okey, so the honeymoon was a fiasco with a capital F, and Lane was a pain in the behind during the pregnancy, and I can't say I totally enjoy not getting to sleep all the time, but it's totally rock'n'roll. You see how I look sort of like a zombie?"

Jess nodded.

"The crowd will totally go for it and think I'm a full-on rocker. Lane looks flipping good too, and Gil is… well he's Gil. We just need Brian to rock it out a little more."

"Good luck with that…"

They both snickered again.

Jess felt so strange. Zach seemed… so at ease with his situation. Happily married to Lane, a father of two kids before he was even 25… How did he manage all that? Jess imagined he could handle the married-thing, a short walk down the aisle for Rory, the usual blaha-blaha infront of a priest and a really nice ring on her finger, and that would be it. Or it would be it if only he could keep Rory's grandparents out of it. The babies-thing would be harder. Sure, he wanted kids. A mini-Rory to love, and take care of, making sure she'd have everything there was to have, but… When? These were questions he wasn't prepared for, and it wasn't like he could just have a heartfelt talk with Zach here, because as much as Zach was a father, he wasn't perhaps the one to give all the right answers. Luke would freak if Jess started asking questions about parenthood, and Jimmy hadn't exactly been the posterboy for Father of the Year.

"Wanna play?" Zach asked, nodding towards the tv and the xbox.

Jess flinched a little, returning from his thoughts.

"Sure." he answered.

"_Anything to keep that off my mind…"_ he thought silently to himself.

* * *

"Sook! Sookie" Lorelai yelled.

She was in the kitchen, and was surprised not to find Sookie there. Jess and Rory had left about half an hour earlier, and Lorelai thought it would be safe to go home, no risk of getting a bad picture of Jess stuck in her head. She was about to leave, and had headed into the kitchen to tell Sookie, but Sookie was nowhere to be found.

"Sookie!" she yelled again.

Nothing. Lorelai looked around. There wasn't anyplace she could be in the kitchen, no space where Sookie could accidentally lock herself in.

"Huh..."

Moving over to the fridge, Lorelai slided it open, absentmindedly picking out something from the back and putting it in her bag. She felt hungry, sort of, and she grabbed the first thing she could find.

"Okey, Sook, I'm leaving, whether you hear me or not! Last chance, I'm leaving! Heading for the door… turning the doorknob… sliding the door open… okey, I'm out, I'm leaving. Call me if there's an emergency or annoy Michel until he does it for you!"

She walked briskly toward her Jeep, got in and picked up her keys from the bag. Turning the keys in the ignition, she leaned over to get out her snack from he bag. She didn't really think much of it until she took the first bite. "This was good…" she thought. It was sweet, with a tinge of sour in it, somehow familiar. It had sort of a strange shape, her hand molded around it. She'd have to ask Sookie what it was, no way she'd tasted this before. She bit it hard, needing both hands to steer the car. Lorelai was just about to pull out the inn's parking lot and drive away when she dropped whatever it was she was biting.

"Freaking…" she began, but fell silent when she saw what she'd dropped.

It was round, sort of yellowish-green, and she knew exactly what it was. Why it was. How it was… Whatever it was.

"Oh crap…"

She threw it back in the bag, hitting the gas at the same time, making the Jeep's tires shower whatever was behind the car with gravel. Lorelai felt she had lost all her sense, which was probably why she turned right instead of left at the first crossing, and ended up driving around in circles.

* * *

"You okey?" Rory asked Jess as they walked home from Lane and Zach's.

They had been there for hours, Lane insisting that they'd stay for dinner. Rory seemed thrilled, and Jess didn't have the heart to say no. He had kicked Zach's ass at the game they were playing, and Zach still begged him for just another game, and well… Jess felt rather hungry, so why not? It still made him feel awkward, even more so now, with Lane zooming around in the kitchen, preparing food while simultaneously taking care of the twins. Jess felt so left behind.

"It's nothing, I'm just full." he answered and patted his stomach.

Sure he was full. Full of questions and doubts and thoughts that didn't seem at all coherent to him. Part of him felt that he was being a world class idiot for reacting like this, while another part told him that this was nothing for him. Then there was another part, a tiny part, but not tiny enough to ignore, that told him that this was something that he wanted. Rory and him, married. Rory, him and a kid, their kid. It was unnerving, and he had to try so hard to keep himself composed.

"You just seem… a little distracted."

"Yeah well… I think I might have needed a bit more time to work my head around the equation Lane plus Zach equals kids times two."

"I know, I'm so sorry, I can't believe that slipped my mind!"

They approached the diner, seeing how Lorelai parked her Jeep right outside.

"Mom!" Rory tried yelling when she saw her mom get out.

But Lorelai didn't hear them, or see them for that matter. She looked kind of flushed when she rushed into the diner.

"Huh…" Rory muttered. "I thought she'd be home by now."

"Perhaps she took the car to the diner?"

Rory gave him a look.

"I rescind my previous statement."

"You know what, town meeting starts soon, we might as well go to the diner and wait."

They turned, heading for the diner. When they came in, neither Luke, nor Lorelai could be seen anywhere.

"Ceasar?" Jess called out.

"Jess!" Ceasar greeteed. "Rory! Good to see you! What can I get you?"

"Where's Luke?" Rory asked.

"He's upstairs with Lorelai. More or less hauled him up, I didn't understand much. Though she mentioned something about stupid."

"Should we go upstairs and look?" Jess asked, turning to Rory.

She answered by moving behind the counter and past the curtain that separated the stairs from the diner.

* * *

Halfway up the stairs they could hear Lorelai. She sounded frantic, babbling on and on, about something being stupid.

"No, it's stupid, so freaking stupid, a rush of stupid to the head! I mean could it get any stupider! No! Yes, that's me, stupid, I can't believe it!" they heard her yap when they were at the top of the stairs.

"Lorelai…" Luke tried to cut in, without much success.

Rory moved to the door, knocking softly before opening. Luke sat down by the table, while her mom was pacing the floor, looking very upset.

"Mom?" Rory asked.

"Kiddo, hi!" Lorelai answered, trying to diguise her franticness.

"You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just stupid."

"I got that impression. What's stupid?"

"Stupid… stupid…" Lorelai muttered to herself.

"You have any idea what this is all about?" Rory turned and asked Luke.

"I think your mom should be the one to tell you this, I have a hard time getting me head around it."

"Mom?"

Rory turned back to Lorelai, looking at her with a questioning look.

"After the town meeting, babe. It's just so…"

"Stupid, I get it."

"You know what wouldn't be stupid?" Lorelai asked.

"Let me guess," Jess said. "Two burgers, lots of fries and enough coffee to give your grandchildren brain damage."

"You have much knowledge." Lorelai and Rory said in chorus.

"Did he learn that from you?" Lorelai questioned, looking at Rory.

"I think both of us might have left a lasting food-imprint on him.

"Hey, guy in flannel shirt, front and center. Why aren't you fixing our food?"

"You're nuts!" Luke growled.

"Just the way you like me. Now go flip burgers, I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry."

"Tough luck. Burgers, flip, now!"

Under much growling, Luke descended the stairs, followed by Lorelai, Rory and Jess.

"Ten bucks says Taylor brings up my name at the town meeting." Jess bet, looking at the two Gilmores.

"Twenty bucks says he'll petition for you to be banned." countered Lorelai.

"And thirty bucks that I will hunt him down and kick his tush if he tries to push it through." finished Rory.

"You'd better have something to hold over his head," Jess began, looking at Lorelai. "Or else, Taylor will revoke her 'town princess' title."

"We can't have that! I will not allow it, my performance as the Renoir girl still hangs in the balance."

"Two aneurysm-burgers with kill-me-now-fries. Your stroke-coffee will be up in a minute." Luke grumbled as he put the plates infront of Lorelai and Rory, and then disappearing into the kitchen.

"Don't you just love him when he's grumpy?" Rory mused.

"Oh yeah, I love me some grumpy!" Lorelai said loudly.

"Keep your pants on!" came the stressed answer from the kitchen.

"This town meeting will be awesome." Lorelai giggled. "Jess is here, Taylor will be annoyed and Luke is grumpy."

"Can't get any better." Rory agreed.

"_Or could it?"_ Jess thought to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: Yeah, so I've been sort of absent here with the chapter-updating. I just had a hard time getting this one good, I'm sort of anal about this story, since it's a sequel to my first. Oh well, it feels just about right now, so here's my Christmas present to all of you. Happy Holidays!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_5. It takes a town…meeting._

"People, people, this is very important!" Taylor pleaded, standing at his little desk, gavel in hand.

The townspeople all sat quiet, dull-eyed, filtering out Taylor's voice.

"Taylor, if we agree to this, whateva it is, will ya shut up an' move on? Morey an' I are late." Babbette croaked from the middle of the crowd.

"It would of course be coercing my own motion, but… yes, it might just be…" Taylor began.

"Aye!" came the loud echo from all of the townspeople, agreeing to something, whatever Taylor had been enforcing.

Just then, Lorelai, Rory, Jess and Luke entered.

"Oh man, did they start early?" Rory whispered.

"Either they're early, we're late or both, in which case we should crouch." Lorelai whispered in answer.

"Lorelai!" Miss Patty exclaimed from the front.

"Shoot!" Lorelai hissed. "Hey Patty… and the rest of you.

"Lorelai… I hope that isn't food you're bringing with you." Taylor said in a reproachful voice, eyeing the suspicious bag Lorelai was holding, before turning to look at Rory. "How nice of you to join us. Welcome back."

"Thanks Taylor." Rory smiled.

Jess nodded a greeting to Taylor, who only scowled at him.

* * *

They sat down, and the regular chaos that was the town meeting commenced. Kirk wanted permission to do his Kirk-in-the-box again, only this time he wanted to do it nude, to which everyone voted against him. Jess felt tempted to vote in favor of it, what could be more hilarious than Kirk in the nude in a see-through box? Gypsy wanted to sue Bootsy for not saving her a copy of Car & Owner. Bootsy was offended, saying that it wasn't his fault Gypsy was slow, she knew very well he only had so many copies of Car & Owner. Taylor dismissed the whole case, saying this was a town meeting not Ally McBeal.

"Taylor knows Ally McBeal?" Rory whispered.

"I so do not wanna know why…" Lorelai said, stuffing a handful of fries in her mouth.

"Now," Taylor announced. "Before our last errand, is there anyone who would like to bring something up?"

"Oh, there's my cue!" Lorelai said excitingly.

"God help us all…" Luke muttered, grumpily.

"No? Nothing? Good!" Taylor concluded, looking smug.

"What?! No, I had something!" Lorelai yelled, standing up.

"Lorelai, I'm sorry, but you're too late. You should have spoken up when the floor was open for new topics."

"Taylor, the floor was more or less closed by the time our brains had got the message that it was open!" she protested.

"Lorelai, you had perfectly good time to stand up and claim the floor. Too bad, now. Maybe next week." Taylor answered.

"You bet…" Lorelai murmured under her breath, giving Taylor a look that could kill. Or at least incapacitate for an unknown time.

"Well, on to our final matter. We have all noticed the return of our own Rory Gilmore. As our honorary Stars Hollow citizen…" Taylor began.

"What, I'm an honorary citizen now?"

"Yeah, they announced it just after you left." Luke whispered.

"Mom! How could you not tell me?"

"Hey, you freaked out about the ice cream queen thing, you think you'd wanted to know about this?"

"…Jess Mariano." Taylor finished.

"What? Me?" Jess asked.

"Jess? What's he done?" Rory asked aloud.

"Well, for one, he's returned." Taylor responded, looking disapprovingly at Jess. "We all remember his previous stays here, am I not right?"

No one answered, as they were all busy staring at Jess.

"Babbette? Did he not kidnap Pierpont?"

"Oh come on, Taylor!" Luke yelled and stood up. "He returned that gnome in one piece!"

"That he did!" Babbette agreed.

"The fake murder outside a certain establishment?"

"Aren't you sort of biased there Taylor? It was your own store?" Andrew asked.

"No matter, he still faked a crime scene! People, you seem out of it. We have a hoodlum seated among us! Will you risk your property and your safety for this hooligan? I say no! So by the power of the new supplement to paragraph 7 of bylaw 65, which states that the mayor of Stars Hollow can banish a citizen, effective immediately, I hereby banish Jess Mariano."

* * *

Pandemonium broke out. Luke, looking like a rabid animal, almost jumped over five rows to get at Taylor, Lorelai and Rory started yelling at him, Lorelai trying to mow him down with the remaining of her fries, and the rest of the townspeople suddenly came alive, buzzing among them, figuring that this was the law they had agreed to earlier, and wondering how this would play out. All the while, Jess sat quietly in his seat, laughing silently.

"Jess! What are you doing?" Rory asked, panic in her voice. "Say something! Defend yourself, you can't let that stupid, idiotic moron of a mayor have his way!"

Jess just smiled at her, pulling her down to sit, while he stood up.

"Taylor? May I speak before you have me leave?"

The room fell silent in a second.

"I'm sure we are all thrilled to hear your last words, young man." Taylor said and agreed hesitantly.

"Thank you. I'm sure you lay up all night hashing out all the details for that little supplement, and as far as I can hear it's all by the law and all you people probably agreed because Taylor's a big yawn."

"The point, Mariano, the point!" Taylor urged.

"I won't leave."

"Of course you will! The supplement to paragraph 7 of bylaw 65 clearly states..!"

"That you may evict any citizen of Stars Hollow." Jess continued calmly, stressing the word citizen. "Too bad I'm not a citizen."

Taylor looked completely blank.

"Guess you didn't think of that. I changed my hometown from Stars Hollow three years ago, when I moved to Philadelphia."

"I will not tolerate this nonsense, you will leave!"

"Sure I'll leave." Jess said as he sat down, and shrugged his shoulders. "In a week."

Taylor looked like he was ready to blow.

"Come on, Taylor, give the kid a break!" Lorelai prompted.

"If you so much as…" Taylor began.

"Shut up Taylor!"

Jess looked up at Rory in surprise. She had that look, he had seen it a couple of times. This was not good.

"You will not tell him what to do! He's a grown man for heaven's sake, I live with him and can testify that he's completely reliable! You so much as think the thought of banishing him then you can kiss your town princess goodbye!"

"Rory!" Lorelai gasped. "Take that back, remember mommy's mental health and the Renoir girl!"

"Come now, Rory, don't be so harsh…" Taylor tried, sounding whiny.

"I'll be harsh if that's the only thing that works, damn it! You are totally unbelievable and childish to hold grudges against people like that! He was seventeen, for crying out loud, and it wasn't like you were making an effort to help him."

That made Taylor silent, along with the rest of the crowd. The common thought swirling through their heads was something along the line of "This isn't like Rory…"

"Now," Rory continued her voice calmer. "Are we clear here? Jess stays, and if you so much as try to harass him…"

"I'll expose you!" chipped in Lorelai.

"You'll do what?" asked Kirk, confused.

"Wow, that didn't come out right…" she muttered.

"Come again, Lorelai?" Taylor asked, looking worried.

"I've got my eyes on you…" Lorelai said, trying to sound mysterious, making a move with her hand to indicate she would be watching.

After that, Taylor adjourned the meeting in three seconds, and disappeared before anyone had noticed.

* * *

"Well… That was interesting…" Jess said smilingly, when he and Rory walked around town afterwards.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I just snapped. I mean, how could he be so conceited and… mean?"

"That's Taylor for you. But… next time someone makes a personal attack at me, could you perhaps let me defend myself? Not that I didn't enjoy you playing my very own Ally McBeal, but I did have a good defence speech ready."

"Sorry… I'll bite my tongue next time."

They wandered along, Jess consciously leading her towards a certain place. This would be as good a time as any.

"Hey, where are we going?" Rory suddenly asked.

"Now that you mention it… It's a surprise."

"I love surprises!"

Jess laughed, he would never get tired of her exuberance. They were quite close now, so he put his hands over Rory's eyes.

"Hey! What's with the hands? I can't see a thing!"

"That's the general idea. Come on, I'll make sure you don't fall."

It took him ten minutes to herd Rory to the right spot, mostly because she would stop all of a sudden to guess where they were going. So far she had guessed wrong with home, Luke's, the bridge, the gazebo and for some strange reason, she had also suggested church. When he finally had her in the right spot, he stopped.

"Okey, I'm gonna take away the hands, but I need you to keep your eyes closed, okey?"

"Eyes closed, got it."

Slowly, Jess pulled away his hands.

"Eyes closed?"

"More closed than a legal case." she giggled.

"Keep 'em that way."

Rory felt jittery, what was this? She obediently kept her eyes closed, but tried to use her other senses to get a clue as to where they were and what they were doing wherever they were. She could sense Jess moving in front of her, before he became still.

"Okey, you can open them."

She opened her eyes, but everything was black. She blinked a couple of times, looking around. It took her a while to recognize the place. They were at the old Independence Inn, right by the pond, under the tree where she had kissed him for the first time. She looked around again, finding Jess' face a bit lower down than she was used to. Her mouth fell open.

"Jess..?" she breathed.

He was down on one knee, smiling dazzlingly up at her.

"Rory. I can see you remember this place. I thought it would be fitting."

"Oh my God…" Rory whispered, her right hand flying up to her mouth.

"Rory Gilmore, will you, someday when the time is right, be my wife?"

* * *

Rory felt strangely dazed. She had been proposed to before, but this was nothing like it. This was by someone she had longed for, someone who knew her to her core. This was nothing like she had felt when Logan proposed at her graduation party. There weren't anyone else present but her and Jess, and it felt… right.

"Ro..?"

"Yes!" she squealed and fell down beside him.

They fell into a hug, Jess beaming widely and Rory letting out squealing sounds of joy.

"So… where's the ring? Shouldn't there be a ring somewhere in all of this?" Rory asked teasingly.

"Yeah, there's a ring. It's in my bag in your room. I didn't think I was doing this tonight, to be honest, I wasn't sure when I was gonna pop the question, but I guess there's nothing like a town meeting to get me in the mood for matrimony."

At the last word, Rory's face went sort of pallid. Her look faltered, and she suddenly seemed far away.

"Rory?" Jess asked worriedly. Did I say something?"

"No, I'm fine, it's just… people will be all over this, and mom, and oh my god, grandma! I'll be married before I'll know it!"

"Hey, you don't want to rush, then that's fine by me. I don't have any imminent urge to dress up in a tux and have Miss Patty and Babbette pinch me in the ass."

"Jeez…" Rory said, mocking disgust.

They lay quiet for a while.

"So you're okey with a long engagement then?" she asked him.

"As long as you want it to be." Jess promised.

"I promise I'll marry you someday." Rory teased. "Come on, let's go home. I'd like to see my ring. No, I demand it!"

"You demand is… whatever, let's go." Jess smiled.

"You know we'll have to tell my mom. And grandma and grandpa."

"Any bright plans or otherwise smart suggestions for that?"

"None."

"We'll wing it."

* * *

**A/N**: Wohoo for that! Think of reviewing as Christmas presents, I've been good!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: Yes, chapter 6 is here. Emily and Richard will make an appearance in this chapter, and things will be revealed. Yeah! If anyone's interested in the ring, you can find a link on my page. It's something like that, although the ring I imagined Jess buying had slightly smaller stones in just one row, and was made of whitegold. If there are any readers in Chile reading this, sorry for dissing your food, I just though it might be something the Gilmore's would… well… You'll see.

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised it I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_Chapter 6: Confessions of a Gilmore_

"Okey, so mom first?" Rory asked.

"Yes, first Lorelai, then we tackle the slight speedbump on our road to marriage that is your grandparents." Jess, sighed, having heard the "plan" ever since they began the walk home.

They were almost at the Crap Shack, and the closer they got, the more anxious Rory got.

"Rory, are you sure this is what you want?" he asked. "It just seems that since I proposed you've been more nervous and jittery than ever before."

"Are you kidding me? Of course I want to marry you, silly! It just seems that it will be everybody's business, and it freaks me out to have to take everyone else into consideration. I might actually need a list for this one."

"What, to figure out whether you should marry me?" Jess teased.

"No! Whether I should invite any of the townspeople. You know, it might just boil down to you, me, mom, Lane and Zach. And grandma and grandpa, if they behave." Rory counted on her fingers.

"You know, that doesn't sound half bad."

"You're mean, and you're playing dirty."

"I play dirty?"

"Yes! You get me thinking about all of this just so it will take us forever to get home, where my ring awaits."

"Wow, I had a hidden agenda and didn't even know about it, I do play dirty."

"Come on Jess, don't stall."

"Fine…"

* * *

The Crap Shack was empty when they came home.

"I bet mom's at Luke's, trying to figure out a way to expose Taylor."

"Or keeping Luke from remembering that Taylor almost banished me."

"Or both!" Rory laughed.

"So… the ring, right? Before you accuse me of further stalling you?"

"Please!"

Jess motioned for Rory to sit down at the kitchen table, while he snuck into her room. There, he pulled a small velvety box out of his bag, a box he had put there in Philly, while Rory was in the bathroom collecting her stuff. He had bought the ring on a whim, he had seen it, and before he knew it, he was in there buying it. It was a whitegold ring, encrusted with five small sapphires and diamonds alternately. It was… perfect. Or it would have been perfect, for the perfect occasion, when he'd have a nice speech ready. Not that he hadn't minded the place he had proposed to her at (that was actually pretty perfect…), but the driving force behind it… well… that could have been better. Jess smiled to himself. _"At least I popped the question, and she said yes."_ he thought to himself.

When he came out into the kitchen, Rory was more or less bouncing off the chair.

"Relax, or I'm taking this back." he teased.

Rory immediately stopped bouncing, and Jess got down on one knee before her. Slowly, and he made it torturously slow just to tease Rory more, he opened the box. When she saw the ring, she let out a sharp squeal, then her hand flew up to her mouth and she got quiet.

"Is that a happy face or a 'holy crap, I should have read Ernest and perhaps I wouldn't be here now'-face?"

"It's... It's a 'Oh my god, I don't want to know how much that cost you but I love it!'-face." she whispered, still looking at the ring.

He took out the ring, taking Rory's left hand in his, sliding the ring on her finger. It felt magical, bordering on Dali-surreal. When the ring was on, they sat quiet for what seemed like an eternity.

* * *

"Should I say anything?" Jess asked after minutes of silence.

"Or should I say anything?" Rory countered.

"How about we go to Luke's to celebrate?"

"What, and proclaim to the entire town that we're engaged? And yes, if Miss Patty or any of her gossip mill-affiliates are there, they will see the ring."

"You can take the ring off if that bothers you. I still know you'll marry me."

"No! I don't want to take off the ring… It's mine…"

"Okey, Gollum. Try the 'Sweet Home Alabama'-tactic and slide it around to hide the stones."

"Because that worked out so well."

"Hey, at least I came with a suggestion."

"Fine, but I'm hedging my bets by putting it on the wrong finger as well, and if we don't get home tonight on account of the entire town shanghaing our future wedding, I'm holding you responsible, Mariano."

"I'm scared witless, Gilmore."

With that, Rory took off the ring, sliding it on her right ringfinger, turning it so the stones faced the inside of her hand.

At Luke's, they found Luke and Lorelai at the counter, arguing seemingly wordlessly.

"It's so fascinating." Kirk said, when he noticed that they were looking at Lorelai. "It's like a new form of communcation, I wonder if they invented it to keep me out of whatever they're talking about, because I'm so good at reading lips..."

"I wouldn't put it past them, Kirk." Jess told him, chuckling on the inside.

"Mom!" Rory yelled, effectively breaking Luke and Lorelai's heads apart.

"Fruit of my loins, there you are!" Lorelai exclaimed, getting off the stool. "Where did you two lovebirds go off to?"

Jess could see Rory cringe the slightest at the mentioning of "lovebirds", but she quickly recovered.

"Not far, we just walked around, reminiscing about… stuff."

"Yeah?" Luke cut in. "You reminisce anything that I could use against Taylor, since the pascifist here forbade me to use violence?"

"Maybe…" Jess answered michievously.

"Oh come on, Jess. Spill it. You despise Taylor almost as much as I do."

"I don't despise him, he's just fun to pull pranks on."

The two of them got into a row about whether Jess should tell Luke about Taylor or not, so Lorelai and Rory left them at the counter, and seated themselves by the window. Rory was careful not to put her hands on the table.

"So, I take it you and Rocky-boy there are ready for tomorrow." Lorelai began.

"Tomorrow?" Rory asked, confused.

"Honey, after seven years of 'no plans for the happiest day of the week', I'd think you'd remember…"

"Oh man, Friday night dinner!"

"Amazing, you leave town for almost two years, sure, you pop in a few times, but you still manage to forget the one day of the week when we actually have to struggle to get through a door."

"And not because of the slightly pornographic fountain in the driveway…"

"If things would only be so good." Lorelai sighed. "My mother somehow caught wind of the fact that you were here, and yes, I might have been involved in that, but only to make her stop talk about me."

"Mom!"

"Hey, you gave up my Renoir-girl!"

"Well, perhaps I did it because I unconsciously knew you ratted me out to grandma! When did this happen?"

"After I left work earlier today. I sort of got lost…"

"You got lost? In Stars Hollow?"

"Shush you. So, I was driving around, and my phone rang, and of course it was my mother, hassling me, so I more or less screamed your name, and she didn't talk about me for the rest of the call."

"You have no shame."

* * *

"You're silly beyond anything! I can't belive we're actually standing here like a couple of nitwits…"

They were standing outside the Gilmore residence, Lorelai stalling them all by blocking the doorbell.

"Is he always like this?" Rory asked her mother, nodding towards Luke.

"Oh yeah," Lorelai answered. "I offered once to go ten minutes in advance, because then he'd arrive just in time for me to actually ring the doorbell, but I only got a 'ridiculous' from him, so I took it as a no."

"Yeah, and once she told me this story…" Luke grunted.

"What, there is a story for the actual entering?" Jess asked.

"Oh no, mom, don't tell me you told him the cowherderess-story."

"I was desperate! It was the night I…" Lorelai said, then noticing Luke's dark look. "Okey, it was the night we…"

"The night I had to tell your parents that we were seeing each other again, because you were too busy with an avocado-pea battle to talk any sense." Luke corrected her.

"Your mom's a fruitcake." Jess commented with a laugh.

"A fruitcake that looks good in heels." Lorelair quipped.

"That you do." Rory agreed.

"Don't encourage her!" Luke reprimanded her, jostling Lorelai aside and then rang the doorbell.

"Oh well, there's no turning back now. Prepare to drop dead, yet again, from an overdose of cutlery."

* * *

The door opened, revealing a scared-looking maid. Lorelai had already taken off her coat, as had Rory, and they gave them to the maid.

"Mom?" Lorelai yelled.

"Lorelai. There is no need to scream, we're in here!" came Emily's voice.

"Ah, the livingroom. Why change the M.O, when you've got a good one going."

"Come on, mom, she'll be to busy talking to me and scowling at Jess to notice any of your vegetable battles." Rory said, taking Jess' arm just as he came up to them, and walked off toward the livingroom.

"One can only hope…" Lorelai muttered, before taking Luke by the hand, following the two youngsters.

Rory was right. Emily and Richard were too engaged in picking Rory's life to pay notice Lorleai, and once Rory mentioned Jess' new book, at least Richard was very interested, while Emily merely looked like she had bitten a sour apple. Lorelai was happily sitting quietly through drinks, fidgeting nervously with her drink, which she hardly even sipped from), humming now and then.

"Are you okey?" Luke whispered, as they were moving toward the dining room.

"Sure. Fine. Superfine. Above and beyond." she whispered back.

"Sorry I asked…"

* * *

"I do hope you are hungry, we had Anna-Perenna cook something called Bistec a lo Pobre. It's a Chilean dish, and is supposed to be delicious." Emily told the party when they were seated around the table. "Of course I had her swap the fries for something more apppropriate."

"Sound nice mom, but really, I wouldn't have minded the fries." Lorelai tried to joke.

"Yes, I could have guessed."

"Is Anna-Perenna Chilean?" Jess asked, in an attempt to be mildly interested.

"No, I think she's from the Honduras, or something around there."

Jess had to try hard to suppress his laughter, and Rory hit him over his knees.

"Ah, here comes the food!" Richard said, looking over toward the kitchen door.

What was set before them looked like nothing remotely resembling food. A slob of meat in a sick yellowish-grey hue was neatly placed in the center of the place, surrounded by baked potatoes, a fresh salad of tomatoes, lettuce and something (it may have been a fruit) neither of them recognized (save perhaps for Luke, but he was too busy staring at the slob of meat), and finally, there were two fried eggs.

"Really mom, I would take the fries now." Lorelai pleaded.

"Lorelai, stop being picky and eat your dinner."

"No, seriously mom…"

"Lorelai, you are acting like a child. Eat your dinner, and do not play around with it this time."

Lorelai sighed, picking at the meat slob before cutting it into tiny, tiny pieces and blending it with the contents of her baked potato.

* * *

Rory was sitting to the left of Jess, concentrating on not looking at her food (she found that once you didn't look at it and tried to ignore the lasting image of it, it didn't taste half bad), and occasionally she took Jess' hand under the table, giving it an encouraging squeeze whenever his facial expressions became tortured enough. Rory constantly reminded herself not to do it too often, because then her mom would surely notice and it would end with Rory telling her that she was engaged. Looking up at her mother, Rory saw that her mom was now greedily eating, but not the baked potato. Lorelai was stuffing in mouthful after mouthful of the salad. Not once in her life had Rory seen her mom relented to the salad of Friday night dinner without a fight.

"Mom…" she said in a low voice.

"Hmm?" Lorelai asked, mouth full of salad.

"You're… You're eating the salad."

"So?"

"You're eating the salad. Sans mocking, playing or any other non-eating procedures. That's not…"

The same thought seemed to hit Lorelai as well, and she dropped her fork, not quite managing to hide her guilty face in time. Seconds later Rory squealed, a high-pitched noise that made Luke cover his ears, her hand flying up to her mouth.

"No way! You…"

Lorelai's eyes bulged, zooming in on Rory's hand. Too late, Rory realized that it was her right hand that had flown up. What worse was, she could feel how the ring had shimmied its way around, so part of the row of sparkling stones was clearly visible. _"Oh, man…" _Rory thought, before her mother let out an equally high-pitched squeal.

"You..!" they both began, stopping mid-sentence to look wildly at each other.

The rest of the dinner party was completely lost at this outbreak. The girls looked like they were about to explode, when they simoultaneously shouted out:

"You're pregnant!"

"You're engaged!"

* * *

**A/N**: Sorry again for dissing the food, I feel so condescending and mean, hope anyone who may have been offended can forgive me. So, I'm off to punish my condescending self with a bit of thesis writing (yes, right now it's a punishment), hope you enjoyed the chapter. Review please!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**: Yes, it's here! Another chapter, and we're all dying to know what went down after last chapter's riveting ending. Did Emily pitch a fit and throw cutlery around? Did Richard suffer a heart attack? Who said what and when? And yet again, my apologies for holding out on you. I was out sick alsmost the entire last week, and my thesis is really getting at me (I'm supposed to have it ready in less than a month!). I'll try to get better at handling a lot of stuff at once. Until next time: Enjoy and review!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised it I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_7. Who first?_

"That was…" Lorelai said in a beat voice, as the door behind them closed.

"Yeah…" Rory agree in the same tone.

"The silence was… memorable." Lorelai continued.

* * *

_After the loud declarations from the girls, both Lorelai and Rory had expected pandemonium. Or at least something snide from Emily. None of that came. Lorelai and Rory stared at each other. Luke's eyes went from staring at Rorys left ringfinger to looking rather gleefully at Jess, who was anxiously watching Emily and Richard. Both were frozen in their positions, Emily watching Lorelai, or rather what was visible of Lorelai's stomach, while Richard was watching Rory, with an expression of shock and joy. Everything was absolutely quiet for what seemed like an eternity, but for Anna-Perenna the maid, who was standing in the kitchen preparing the dessert, the whole thing lasted about five seconds. After that, Emily and Richard returned to their meal, carrying on as if nothing had happened. Luke, unsure of what to do, followed their example after a moments hesitance, and Jess tuned in a second later. The only ones not recovering from the reactions (or lack thereof) were Lorelai and Rory. They broke out of the staring and began scanning Emily and Richard for any sign of joy, rage or contempt. Richard was looking a bit smug, briskly cutting what was left of the food into smaller pieces. Emily, on the other hand, was completely emotionless, and that worried Lorelai. _

_After minutes of just watching the rest of the dinnerparty, they continued eating, though still glancing up every now and then, as if to try and catch someone in the act of reacting to the news. Both came up blank. After dinner they both excused themselves, meeting up in the designated "emergency"-bathroom to discuss what to do. Rory wanted to try and bring it up again, citing shock as reason for the lack of reaction. Lorelai vetoed that, saying that it would be foolish to challenge fate. They went back, had dessert, and made up some excuse to leave as soon as coffee was over._

* * *

"So… Are we safe?" Jess asked, as they began walking toward the Jeep.

"From my parents? Oh, to be so naïve." Lorelai quipped.

"What?"

"Jess, we stumped them. You don't stump Emily and Richard Gilmore. They will pounce, and you can be sure it will be a vicious pounce."

They entered the Jeep, and Lorelai quickly backed out of the driveway and began the ride home. No one said a thing for almost the entire trip, and Lorelai felt uncomfortable. It had been the surrealest Friday night dinner to date. She was pregnant, Rory was engaged, and Emily and Richard had acted as if they had commented on the weather.

"Wow…" she said, mostly to herself.

"Yeah." Rory agreed from the backseat.

"Pregnant."

"Engaged."

"Blank." Jess commented, a bit confused.

"Hey, will we have to marry now?" Luke asked suddenly.

"Afraid so." Lorelai answered, sighing. "Otherwise I would never be able to wear that perfect dress I picked out for last time."

"Lorelai, it's not like you're going to be pregnant forever. Rory came out, I'm sure babies haven't changed that much since then." Luke muttered.

"By the time I get my body back, I'll be old, wrinkly and too weak to stand up straight."

"Wow, overreact much?" Jess jeered.

"Rory, honey, how much do you like your fiancé with his self-esteem intact?"

"You know, I've never seen him without it." Rory answered amused.

"So, what about you guys?" Luke asked. "You talked about when..?"

"We were kinda thinking of having a long engagement." Rory answered, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"What, like Audrey, and what's-his-name?" Lorelai interjected.

"Mom! His name was Maneche, at least in the movie, and no, not that long. Remind me not to watch French movies with you, you just mock them."

"Babe, first of all, yes, I mock movies, but so do you. Second, how will you get the 'long engagement'-idea past grandma, the uncrowned master of coercion?"

"We could always say that Rory wants to wait until you two get hitched, and then you can drag it out." Jess suggested with a grin.

"You got yourself a smart one." Lorelai smiled. "That could work if the planets are correctly aligned, the moon full, the glass half-empty and the maid satisfactory."

"I think it could work, and it wouldn't be a total lie."

"You want me and Luke to go first? For real?"

"Well, isn't that the way it's supposed to be? Mother's doing major things before their daughters. You managed to graduate before me, why not?"

"Technically, I married before you…"

"Dad doesn't count." Rory said resolutely.

"I second that." Luke concurred.

It was quiet for about a second.

"Can I battle you for it?" Lorelai asked, holding up her fist.

"Mom! I will not decide the order of our weddings by rock, paper, and scissors!"

"Not that it wouldn't be like you two…" Jess mused.

"You got that right..." Luke grumbled.

"Fine, if you don't want to battle about it, we'll just leave it be. And I don't want to hear a single word about a double wedding. I still have nightmares about the double-twin-wedding-horror of 2000. Besides, this isn't exactly the biggest of our problems."

"There are problems?" Luke and Jess asked in one voice.

"Where have you two been? Try to imagine the town when they find out that one Gilmore is engaged and the other one pregnant and thus more or less forced to marry?"

"I take offense to the 'forced'-thing." Luke argued. "But, you could use this against Taylor."

"Your evil thinking has rubbed off on him." Jess teased. "How long will I last?"

"Oh Jess, you caved in a long time ago, you just don't know it yet." Lorelai answered with a laugh.

* * *

They dropped off Luke at the diner, and continued home. They had barely stepped inside and gotten their coats off when Lorelai stopped dead and sniffed the air.

"My mother has called."

"Mom, you can't smell a call. I get it that you could smell that grandma had been in my dorm at Yale, but seriously, you can't smell a call." Rory argued.

Jess shook his head, going over to the phone.

"Hey, guys, you have messages."

"It's my mother." Lorelai said, as if it was obvious.

Rory glared at her, walking up to the phone, pressing the 'Messages'-button.

_"Lorelai, please, why do you insist on recording those offensive machinemessages?"_ came Emily Gilmore's voice.

"Oh man, here comes the pounce…" Lorelai warned them.

_"Anyway, I know you are driving home, and I simply wouldn't call you in the car, you could have gotten arrested."_ Emily's voice continued.

"No mom, that's what you do." Lorelai commented the message.

_"This concerns both of you. Lorelai, you need to cut down on your work, and stop drinking such absurd amounts of coffee. I'm sure those partners of yours at the inn can take more responsibility, if not, then order them to. You are the manager. As for the unborn, I can get you an appointment with a friend of ours at Hartford Memorial, very talented, he went to Yale."_

"Because that is absolutely the first thing I ask of all my doctors…"

_"Now Rory.."_

"No!" Rory exclaimed.

_"Congratulations, the ring was fabulous. I think I can convince Randall to do the wedding, so I'm going to need you to contact me about when you want to have a meeting with him, he truly is a genius when it comes to…"_

Rory hit the 'Messages'-button again, and the Crap Shack was quiet. She stood staring at the phone, as if Emily was hiding somewhere in it, and would pop out and continue talking about Randall the wedding planner.

"Rory, are you okey?" Jess asked her, carefully putting a hand on her shoulder.

She didn't quite hear him, she was still trying to wrap her mind around the fragment of the message that concerned her.

"She…" Rory began. "She's hijacking my…"

"Engagement?" Lorelai tried.

"No! My life!"

"Calm down babe, we'll call her and tell her it was all a joke and then you and Rocky jr here elope to Vegas."

"No!" Rory screamed.

Jess stepped up to her and hugged her.

"It's going to be okey, Rory. We'll have our long engagement."

"I'm sorry…" Rory whispered.

"It's okey."

"No, I mean, I'm sorry." Rory repeated, disentagling herself from Jess embrace.

Wide-eyed, both Jess and Lorelai saw how Rory took off the ring and put it beside the phone.

"I… She… I'm so sorry…" she said, tears in her eyes.

Then she walked over to the coatrack, took her coat and walked out.

* * *

Neither Lorelai, nor Jess followed. They knew she needed to be alone.

"She's probably down at the bridge. Or at Lane's." Lorelai said, trying to lighten the mood.

Jess didn't answer. He slowly reached for the ring, and disappeared into Rory's room, quietly closing the door.

"This is so not good…" Lorelai mumbled to herself.

She went over to Rory's bedroom door, and knocked on it.

"Jess? Jess, I know you're there. I'm gonna go over to Luke's, get us some real food and stuff, and then we'll go look for Rory and drag her home and we're gonna weld that ring back onto her finger, okey?"

There was only silence, so she took it as an affirmative silence and left.

* * *

She had a weird feeling all the way to Luke's, so by the time she sat down at the counter, Luke was already standing in front of her, looking questioningly at her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing…" she tried.

"Lorelai, I know that look, now tell me what's the matter."

"You want the good news or the bad news?"

"Bad news first."

"I think Rory broke off the engagement after my mother pounced via the phone."

"What?!" Luke exclaimed.

"Not that it wasn't like my mother, but Rory… She just snapped, in a sort of Rory-kind of way. She just took off the ring, and then left."

"How's Jess?"

"He went into Rory's room after she left, I think he needed to be alone."

"So what's the good news, although I doubt there are any by now."

"Umm… No one died?"

"Unbelievable…"Luke muttered, then turning towards the kitchen to yell: "Ceasar, cover for me!"

With that Luke exited the diner, and Lorelai was quick to follow.

* * *

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"I'm going to go talk to Jess, I suggest you look for Rory."

"Well, maybe she's home by now."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself to prevent a freak-out."

But when they came to the Crap Shack it was dark, and looked empty. Jess' car was gone, and there was no sign of anyone around. They entered, to find that the house indeed was empty. Lorelai tried calling Rory, who wouldn't pick up, while Luke had at least slightly better luck with Jess.

"Where are you? … Why? … She what?! … Listen, kid… Fine, Jess! No, you listen, and you listen good. What? Hello?"

"What did he say?" Lorelai asked.

"He hung up on me!" Luke grumbled, visibly upset.

"Is that bad?"

"It didn't used to be, but now I'm prepared to say that it is."

"Okey, so did he tell you what's going on?"

"He managed to choke out that Rory snuck away with his car, probably straight after you left, and no, I don't know how she got the keys. Anyway, he noticed the car was gone, called Rory, and she said in so many words that she was on her way to Philadelphia."

"And where was Jess?"

"Jess was in a cab on his way to the trainstation to go to Philadelphia too."

"Boy, do those two act fast. Must be the coffee." Lorelai mused in a low voice.

"I was about to try to get him to come back to Stars Hollow, so we could talk about it and resolve things, but that's when he hung up on me."

"Okey, so bright side, they're safe, and on their way to some kind of home. Dark side, they really need to talk, to my mother and to each other, because this… well, this is bad."

"You don't think you should talk to your mother?"

"I don't know. I just have the feeling that anything I say to her now would screw this up more."

She slouched down on the sofa, staring aimlessly on the ceiling.

"This is bad." she said after a while.

"I know."

"Do you know what this means for us, if it doesn't get fixed?"

"No, not really." Luke said hesitantly, sitting down on the sofa's armrest.

"It means we marry first."

Luke face shifted from expressionless to bordering on scared to determined.

"We have to fix this." he said resolutely.

On cue, the phone began ringing violently.

* * *

**A/N**: Man, am I good at cliffhangers. The ringing phone sure pops up in a lot of my stories, I need to get a new device of drama. :p Anyway, hope you liked it, and let me repeat: review!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**: Most of you wanted to know what drove Rory over the edge, and believe me, I asked myself that question. Unfortunately, my inspiration was intent on holding out on me with that, and instead it gave me some JJ while hashing out the details for the return of Rory and Jess. I promise that I will see to it that there be Lit in the next chapter, so enjoy this until next time!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised it I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_8. __Park bench revisited_

Lorelai groaned at the sound of the phone.

"You're closer to the phone, Luke. Answer it for me, will you?" she begged him.

"What if it's Rory?" Luke asked.

"Just answer the thing."

Luke shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the phone.

"Hello, Luke Danes at Lorelai Gilmore's house… Yes… Just a second, Emily."

He put down the phone, and turned to Lorelai.

"You knew it was her." he said and looked at her reproachfully.

With another groan, Lorelai got out of the sofa and went over to the phone and picked it up.

"Hello mother."

"Lorelai, I demand an explanation!"

"Mom, any other time I would know what you're talking about, but please, be a little more specific."

"First, Rory calls us…"

"Wait, Rory called you?"

"Yes, Lorelai, she called us, and she was raving. Something about a hijacking. Is she in trouble?" Emily demanded to know.

"No, but…"

"And then, just a minute ago, that… Well, that boy comes knocking down our door, storming in and hands us Rory's engagement ring."

"Jess was there?"

"Lorelai, can't you keep up? Yes, he was here, he asked us if we were happy now, and then he left. I think he came in a cab, and I do hope for his own good that it didn't leak oil in the driveway."

"Mom, I hardly think you can blame Jess for an oil leak on a vehicle he doesn't own. Secondly… Mom, honestly, have you no idea what this is about?"

"Would I have called you if I had, Lorelai?"

"But why did you call me? I know you're not Jess' best buddy, but why didn't you call Rory?"

"She was driving, I heard it. Do you think I want to be the reason for her possible arrest?"

"Seriously mom. Why did you call me?"

"Stop answering my questions with questions, Lorelai. I demand to know what is going on."

Lorelai took a deep breath. There was no telling where this would go.

"Is dad still up?"

"No, he just went to bed. How so?"

"Would you just please go drag him out of bed? You know what, I'll come down, it's best."

"Lorelai, it will be late by the time you get here."

"Mom, if you managed to stay awake almost the entire night to watch those ballroom dancing tapes, on several occasions I might add, then I'm sure you can stay awake for this. It concerns Rory, I would think that's important to you. Now, get dad out of bed and I'll be there in twenty."

With that, she hung up, and let out the breath she had held for the final minutes of the conversation.

"So you're going to Hartford?" Luke commented.

"Yup. As much as I'm not a fan of a face-to-face confrontation with my parents, I couldn't tell them over the phone." Lorelai replied gloomily.

"You want me to tag along?"

She smiled at him, nodding as she stepped forward to give him a hug.

"But don't think for one second I'm gonna let you drive." she added as they began walking towards the door.

"You're hopeless."

"And you love me for it."

* * *

During the drive to Hartford, Lorelai tried calling Rory and Luke tried to reach Jess, but neither of them answered their phones. Rory had switched hers off, and Jess simply wouldn't answer. Lorelai knew that Rory hardly ever switched off her phone, and having no means of contacting her made Lorelai anxious. By the time they parked the Jeep outside the Gilmore residence, she was worked up, all jittery and ready to explode into a tirade of explanations and accusations. For the first time she had no problem ringing the bell, and she marched in as soon as the maid had opened the door widely enough.

Richard and Emily were sitting in the livingroom, Richard still in his pajamas and a neat silkrobe, while Emily still wore the same clothes she had had on for dinner.

"Hey," Lorelai greeted them. "Thanks for… you know, staying up."

Luke greeted the Gilmores and they sat down in the sofa opposite the elder Gilmores.

"So, what is this about. Why am I being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night?" Richard asked, a tad sourly.

"Dad, this…" Lorelai began, but restrained herself from going off-topic. "Okey, so it's Rory."

"Is she all right?" Emily asked, her face smooth and emotion-ridden.

"She's fine, as far as we know."

"As far as you know? What does that mean?"

"It means she has turned off her cellphone, and I can't get a hold of her."

Richard and Emily looked puzzled over this, as they knew just as well as Lorelai that Rory always kept her phone on. Lorelai felt flustered, and her bad habit of fidgeting with her hands kicked in on cue.

"Rory…"

She sighed. This was much harder then she had thought.

"Okey, so everything was good, until we got home…"

"Lorelai, the point, please…" Emily urged her.

"Rory broke off the engagement with Jess." Luke told them in a solemn voice.

"She what?" Emily and Richard said in one voice.

"We came home, and saw that you had called, and we listenened to the message, and yes, Michel and Sookie can take on more work, but not until…" Lorelai started rambling. "Nevermind, the thing is, Rory sort of snapped when you began talking about her wedding, 'cause her and Jess were planning on having a long engagement, and then you popped up, taking over what has to be the most major thing in her life, hence the hijacking-reference. And Jess, he must be devastated, and I think he thinks you wanted it this way, which I hope you didn't, so that explains his visit, and now they're both on their way to Philly, and we can't get hold of either of them, and now I'm out of breath."

* * *

The silence that followed was almost as defined as the one that followed the outbursts at dinner. Richard was staring at Lorelai, and Emily's eyes seemed fixed on something far away.

"But… she is safe?" Richard asked cautiously.

"I don't know! She flipped, dad, and left. At some point she came back, took Jess' car and left. She then called Jess, and then he left in a cab, and sometime between that call and ten minutes ago, she switched off her phone. But since no hospital has called me to inform me that she's been hurt physically, I'm assuming she's not suffering from anything else than a broken heart."

"Broken heart?" Emily asked, sounding surprised.

"Mom. You took over the thing that was her entire life, without asking her."

"Nonsense, she would have had a say in everything, and if she didn't want it, she would have been free to turn down my offer."

"But this is Rory, mom. Do I really have to explain this to you? She loves you so much, and the idea of saying 'no' to you is almost absurd to her."

"Then why this fit of hysteria?"

"I don't know. Normally we would have talked about it, and I would have called you, and you would have told me not to stick my nose where it doesn't belong, and in the end Rory would have called and asked you to drop it, but… I don't know, there's something more here."

"Luke, do you think you could get in touch with… with Jess?" Richard asked.

Luke flinched a little, he had been sitting quietly beside Lorelai, listening to her arguing Rory's case, and the sudden question threw him.

"He's got his phone on, but either he refuses to answer me, or he can't hear the phone ring. Don't ask me which is more likely, 'cause I don't know."

The answer didn't seem to fully satisfy Richard. His face got an expression of great thoughtfulness. After a few minutes he spoke again, his voice magisterial and determined:

"This is what we will do. We will leave them alone for tonight. If they haven't answered your calls before, I doubt they will do it now. Tomorrow, we will all go to Philadelphia, and we will sort this thing out."

"A full-scale Gilmore intervention. Not bad at all, dad." Lorelai smiled.

"Now, I suggest we start early tomorrow, so we'd all better get some sleep. I'm sure you and Luke can make do with your old room. If you excuse me, I'm going back to bed."

Richard rose from the sofa, and strolled away up the stairs. Luke excused himself to go to the bathroom, leaving Lorelai and Emily alone.

* * *

Lorelai watched her mother. She could tell that Emily was feeling something. She had seen that face, that almost perfect mask that covered up whatever she was feeling, so many times.

"Mom..? Are you okey?"

Emily didn't answer immediately. She seemed lost in thought.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Lorelai, I'm fine." Emily answered soberly. "Well, it's no good sitting up all night, if we're heading out tomorrow. I suggest you and Luke try to get as much sleep as possible."

Emily rose, and Lorelai instinctively rose with her.

"We will."

"I'll send Anna-Perenna to wake you, and we'll have breakfast together before we leave."

Lorelai just nodded.

"Well, goodnight, then."

"Goodnight, mom."

Emily walked past her, heading for the stairs. The spirit in the room felt like a heavy blanket over them both. Lorelai sighed heavily.

"Mom?" she called out.

Emily turned around, halfway up the first set of steps.

"It's gonna be okey. I'm sure Rory's fine, and we'll straighten this out tomorrow."

Emily smiled a faint smile, before continuing up the stairs.

* * *

Seconds later Luke emerged from the bathroom, to find Lorelai alone by the sofa, her arms wrapped around her.

"You okey?" he asked her.

"Yeah… Or… No, not really." she whispered. "I can't stand not being able to call her or talk to her."

"Come on, let's get some sleep. You're tired and wound up. Rory's fine, Jess is fine, I'm sure of it, and we're going to get to the bottom of this." Luke told her confidently.

She let out a small laugh.

"Why do you make it sound more believable?" she asked him jokingly, as they walked up the stairs.

"Because I mean it."

"God, I feel like I'm sitting on that stupid park bench again."

"Park bench?"

"Yeah. It was while we were building the inn, and I had money trouble, and felt like I was losing it, and you talked to me, and told me that I wasn't failing, and…"

"I remember that. Though I didn't specifically remember the park bench."

"Well, I'm getting the 'failing'-feeling back, 'cause why couldn't I fix this, why didn't I run after her, and why did I reject the idea of talking about it, this, whatever at dinner, and… and why isn't she answering? She knows I turn into a basketcase everytime I can't get a hold of her, and that I feel guilty everytime I go a long time without talking to me. Why is she doing this?"

She knew it before she felt it, she was crying, and this time, she didn't even try to fight it. Luke guided her into her old room, pulled the bedcover off, and let Lorelai lie down. He knew none of them were going to get much sleep anyway, and she obviously needed to unload, so he pulled off his jeans, his shirt and socks, and lied down beside her. Lorelai was already sobbing into her pillow. Carefully, he turned her, so that she faced him, and he held her close. Tomorrow would be critical, Luke knew that. He only hoped that the three stubborn Gilmore girls could see eye to eye on this.

* * *

**A/N**: Hmm… So a semi-cliffhanger here. I can't seem to get rid of them. Anywho, please review and kickstart my Rory/Jess-inspiration!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**: Okey, so I got my act together, my thesis is ready... for now *yey* and everything else… Well, I'm winging it, it has worked so far. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, I feel like something's missing, and with any luck, I can work it in later. If I'm really lucky I think something's missing because it is missing, but from the wrong story. Hm, oh well, here it is, chapter 9. Enjoy and review!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised it I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_9. Sleepless in Philly_

On a day like this, Rory ofte found it hard to think straight. When she had parked outside the apartment building, where she and Jess lived, in Philly, she was astounded. She had made it this far without totally freaking out. Yeah, well, mostly. Breaking a daylong engagement and running out on her family was pretty much freaking out in her book. But anything after that wasn't so crazy. _"Except, maybe the phonecall to grandma…"_ Rory thought glumly to herself.

She hadn't been able to let it go, and once she hung up on Emily (after having tried to give a lecture on not hijacking someone's life like that), she panicked, called Jess and told him she was going to Philadelphia, and then switched off her phone. In hindsight, that was probably the best thing she had done all night, all things considering. Rory figured Emily would call Lorelai, and knowing her mom, she had probably tried to reach Rory multiple times already. With her phone on, Lorelai would've convinced her to come home, and they would fix things. Though usually sensible and clearheaded, Rory didn't feel like returning home anytime soon, and how could this be fixed anyhow? "What is with people?" she mumbled under her breath, continuing silently: _"They trash my boyfriend, my Jess, and take over my engagement, just so they can usher me down the aisle according to their own sick fashion!"_

Rory shook her head.

"I need coffee…" she muttered sourly, as she walked up the stairs and and unlocked the door to the apartment.

But coming home this time didn't feel as good as last time. The apartment was dark and empty when she entered, there were no happy surprises waiting for her, not a sound except for the ones she was making. She quietly made her way to the kitchen, opening the cabinet that held coffee. She rummaged around the cabinet in the dark, until she found the right container. It was a plain tin can, with a note taped to the lid. Rory was thankful she hadn't turned on the lights. The note ("Rory Gilmore's emergency-stash of Luke's coffee. Beware! Deplete at own risk!") had been written and taped to the lid by Jess after Matt had taken the last of the coffeeblend (by mistake, he claimed) a couple of months back. Jess…

Rory couldn't make herself think about him, with moderate success. She figured he must be so upset and hurt. He had given her that beautiful ring, and promised they would have a life together that was their own, and she had thrown that in his face and left. Suddenly, being in the apartment felt all wrong. Jess was ever-present; from the note in his handwriting on the coffee tin can (she knew the note by heart, how the ink had smudged out and the way his R's curved), to his books in his part of the bookshelves and the defined scent of him in the bedroom. She sighed, and put the coffee back into the cabinet and closed it quietly. This was not a time for coffee after all.

She walked out of the kitchen, but stopped halfway throught the livingroom. Everyplace she could sleep reminded her too much of her stupid Stars Hollow freak-out. The bedroom was out of question. The smell of Jess would nestle its way into her head and drive her insane. She glanced over to the couch. No, no couch. Too many movie-mockings, and memories of his return into her life. The mockings would come to her, and she'd lie awake all night reviewing, cataloguing and grading them, while fighting away the memory of _10 things I hate about you_. Rory sighed loudly, crossing her arms over her chest, and pouted. She scanned the empty apartment, finally spotting one place she could sleep that didn't directly remind her of Jess. Not too much, anyway, because… _"Hey, why don't I want to think about Jess?" _she asked herself. Nothing answered, not even a stupid little voice in her head. She furrowed her brow. Then it came to her, full blast. Ring, engagement, freak-out.

"I'm beyond ridiculous." she sighed, regretting not drinking coffee.

She slouched over to the bedroom, quickly pulling out her pillow, the bedcover and her blanket, before going to prepare her solitary bed for the night.

* * *

At that same moment, Jess was looking absentmindedly out a window. As soon as Rory had called him, all frantic, he had called a cab and told the driver to take him to Hartford train station. Halfway there, he changed his mind, telling the driver to make a short stop before the station. He could feel the ring burning a hole in his jacket pocket, and he couldn't stand it. When the driver pulled up at the Gilmore's driveway, he was out before the car had come to a full stop.

"Wait here." he growled at the driver, as he jumped out.

He was at the door in two seconds, banging away at it loudly. The maid, Anna-something-or-other opened, and he glared at her, probably a bit harsher than entirely necessary, and stomped in without a word. He made his way to the livingroom, figuring Richard and Emily would be there, sipping some stupid drink. He was half-right. Emily was sitting at a small table, going through some papers, and her head snapped up when she heard him coming.

"What on earth?" she began, sounding so indignant, Jess felt his blood boil.

He fought to keep down the urge to take a swing at her (and fully revert to the 17-year old asshole he tried to surpress), instead pulling out the ring, and throwing it down on the table.

"I god damn hope you're happy now!" he said in a hard voice, before turning on his heel, stomping out of the house and into the cab.

* * *

It didn't take long to get to the trainstation, and he boarded the first train he could get on. As soon as he had slumped down in his seat, he zoned out, trying to calm down. He tried thinking about nothing at all, but to no avail. His thoughts kept wandering, always stranding on the picture of Rory pulling the ring off of her finger. He felt a wave of sadness hit him everytime that picture popped up in his head, and he almost missed his train change in New Haven because of it, but made it with a few seconds to spare. Now he was somewhere between New York and Philly, looking out the window, trying to sort out the inferno of thoughts in his head. One second, he felt he was absolutely right going after Rory, she couldn't think straight, she was upset, and she needed him. The next second he was scolding himself for going. She had left for a reason; to be alone. Why was he such a Luke, trying to butt in and fix it? At the last part, he groaned, reprimanding himself for reverting back into that 17-year-old asshole-self that kept popping its ugly head up all the time.

Two and a half hours later, he stepped out into the chilly Philadelphia air, finding it oddly comforting to be home, because that's what this city was to him. New York had never really been a home for him, just a place where he happened to live at the time, and Stars Hollow… He had tried to see it as a home, but it never became more than a place forced upon him, with a mutual dislike tainting the days. Stars Hollow was Rory's home, not his. California had only been a stop on the way, his father lived there, it was a couch he crashed on, and a plate of food every day. But once he got to Philadelphia, something had clicked. _"This city… The city of Brotherly Love…"_ Jess thought, and snorted at his own sappiness. There was just something about it, it didn't try to be anything else than it was, and no one tried to kick him out here.

He didn't bother taking a cab, thinking the walk would give him time to think about what to do next. Rory was probably at the apartment, but the closer Jess got to it, the more he felt he should let Rory be, at least for the night. He could go to her first thing in the morning, or whenever he woke up. This only meant one thing. "They are so going to hate me…" he smirked, when he stood outside Truncheon five minutes later, and started banging on the door.

* * *

And he was right. After banging for an eternity, Chris opened, wildeyed and armed with a bat.

"Mariano, what the hell?" he wheezed, looking at him suspiciously.

"Postpone the inquision for now, pal." Jess told him. "I need to borrow your couch for the night."

"I could ask why and get a glare, or I could wait 'til tomorrow, or, well, technically later today, and bust your balls for this big time." Chris yawned, holding the door open for Jess to enter.

Jess nodded thanks, quietly moving through the store, up the stairs and into the apartment, with Chris behind him. Chaos met Jess when he entered the apartment.

"Wow, seems you two have been pigging it out since I left."

"Ballbusting bro, ballbusting." Chris muttered in answer, manouvering around the clutter and going into what used to be Jess' room, closing the door.

Jess smiled, thinking he was safe, as Chris' memory was like a Swiss cheese. Full of holes. He went over to the couch, a scrangly-looking thing the guys had bought at a fleamarket, as he and Rory had taken the old one. Slumping down on the couch, he made a mental note to appreciate the sofa standing in his and Rory's apartment more often. It wasn't like he was gonna get much sleep for the remaining hours of the night, but at least he could have spent the night not sleeping on a couch that felt like a couple of boulders covered in funky-smelling cloth. He made plans for later. Going over to the apartment, talk to Rory, get her to open up, or at least open the door. Perhaps he should call Luke and Lorelai. Perhaps...

He floated into a blurry dream of rings, blue eyes and Emilys at the end of an aisle. Jess could only hope the strange dream was a good omen.

* * *

**A/N**: Yeah, so sort of a filler chapter, I promise the next chapter will be crunch-time. Polemic will ensue, coffee will be made, and where did Rory sleep? ;) Review (again... :p ) please!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**: Thanks for the reviews, you guys rock my socks and probably a few other pieces of clothing. Okey, so the big intervention is due, let's see how things goes when you mix a confused Rory, a bitter Jess, a tired Lorelai and the elder Gilmores. Yeah! Also, as a compensation for my sore lack of updating *scolds self*, this chapter is somewhat longer than my chapters usually are. I had a hard time getting to a nice end here, and while the end isn't entirely nice, it's… well… You'll see.

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_10. Three Gilmore girls and an engagement ring_

"Señora Gilmore?"

Lorelai turned over in her bed.

"Early…" she muttered.

"Señora Gilmore?" asked the voice again.

"Hate early…" Lorelai continued, turning over further, but this time she rolled into something.

Determined not to let this something obstruct her way, she kept turning over, until the offensive thing next to her gave way.

"Lorelai!"

Luke's upset voice made Lorelai snap her eyes open. Luke was not in bed, and when she peeked over the left side of the bed, there he was, on the floor.

"What are you doing there?" she asked sleepily.

"You pushed me!" Luke told her accusingly.

"I did?"

"Señora Gilmore?"

Again, the voice. Lorelai gathered it must be the maid.

"Well, I only did it because she woke me up." she said, pointing toward the door.

Luke gruffed something unintelligeble, and began putting his clothes on.

* * *

They trod down the stairs ten minutes later, finding Emily and Richard in the dining room, having breakfast.

"Good morning." Luke greeted the elder Gilmores.

Emily gave him a quick look, while Richard offered him part of the paper. Lorelai took the opportunity of loading her plate full of food, stuffing it in, so she couldn't answer any questions, because it was rude to talk with food in your mouth. Over all it was a quiet breakfast. Emily asked her if they had had a good night's sleep, to which Lorelai nodded. Richard tried to make small talk with Luke, but it was as if they all knew what they were going to have to do as soon as breakfast was over.

"I… I think I'm gonna go try calling Jess." Luke excused himself, and left the dinner table.

Lorelai sighed. She never liked being alone with her parents, it was like being left alone with a couple of vicious hyenas with manners. When peeking up from her plate of food, she found her parents oblivious, trying to ignore the imminent intervention. Emily was lazily stirring her cup of tea, reading the art-pages of the paper. Richard was immersed in the business-section.

"So…" Lorelai began. "When do we leave?"

Her parents looked up from the respective paper-sections and stared at her. Lorelai felt like she had literally dropped a bomb in the room. Luckily, Luke entered the room, just as she began feeling like she had to apologize.

"I only got Jess' voicemail, but I told him we would be coming down to Philadelphia, and that he should call me as soon as he hears the message."

"Well, I guess we should get moving. It's a long drive." Richard said matter-of-factly, putting down his paper.

"Yes," Emily concurred curtly. "Be ready to leave in fifteen minutes."

Lorelai meant to say something about fifteen minutes not being enough, but kept it to herself for the sake of the four hour car trip.

* * *

In Philadelphia, Jess was awake. He had been awake for most of the night, and he had seen how his phone had began vibrating silently when Luke had called. He didn't feel like talking, and waited until the call went to voicemail, hoping Luke wouldn't leave a message. Although he might, he often did. Sometime during the night Jess had picked up his phone, only to discover 16 missed calls, most of them from Luke, but also a couple from Lorelai. He figured he must have missed them during his zoned-out session on the train. He turned around in the uncomfortable sofa, trying to push away the thought of all of Luke's calls. He had been pretty rude to Luke over the phone, but he wasn't thinking clearly._ "Right, nice defense there…" _he scoffed at himself. He turned yet again, then sighing. He reached out to grab his phone, pushed a couple of buttons and listened to his voicemail. Luke had in deed left a message.

"_Hey Jess, it's Luke, althought you've probably guessed that from all the calls… Anyway, Lorelai, Emily, Richard and myself are coming down to Philly today so we can clear up this mess with Rory. We're finishing breakfast, so I figure we'll be leaving within the hour. Call me when you get this. Sorry if I woke you. Okey, bye."_

Jess looked at his watch. Six-thirty. He could call, they were obviously up. Or he could just not call. He had nothing to say, nothing to explain, they knew why he left, or at least they should. And why did Emily and Richard have to come? To wreak more havoc? Hadn't they done enough? Jess shook his head. This was something between Rory and him, they needed to work this out. If Luke and Lorelai wanted to help, that was fine by him, but Gilmore seniors? He couldn't get it. Jess put the phone away. _"Okey, so six-thirty. Lorelai will stall, so they will probably start driving at seven, stop for coffee at least twice if not more… They're probably here around noon…"_ he thought. Yeah, that sounded about right. He could meet up with them then. As reluctant as he was to spending time with Emily and Richard, he knew he needed Lorelai and Luke to get to Rory in case things didn't go well with him trying it solo, and Luke and Lorelai came with Lorelai's parents, so there wasn't much to be done about it. Jess turned around yet again. If he was going to spend the day coaxing Rory back into his life, with the help of her mother, his uncle and her grandparents, he needed sleep. Energy. Sleep… Within five minutes, Jess was snoozing away on the uncomfortable sofa.

A couple of blocks away, Rory was sound asleep, occasionally turning in her crammed make-shift bed. It wasn't so bad after all, it had looked pretty stupid once she had made the bed, but when she had crawled in under the cover and put her head down on the pillow, she had fallen asleep at once. It could have been the strange place, or it was just because she was exhausted. She had driven all night, she was feeling void of everything and filled with all kinds of emotions, all at the same time. In her heart she knew she had to do something about this, sometime, but her mind was at peace for the moment, dreaming about jumping from the tower with the Life and Death Brigade. She was happy to see Logan was nowhere in sight, and she felt exilirated when she took that final step into the air, holding her umbrella tightly. The trip down seemed to go on and on, and soon she noticed she was floating downwards, just her and her umbrella. No safety-rig, nothing. On the one hand she felt free and happy. On the other hand, she really wanted to see the ground. Looking down, there was nothing. Just more blue. Suddenly, she wasn't floating downwards anymore. She was floating upwards, away from the ground, and she wasn't sure whether she liked it or not.

* * *

"I still say we should've taken two cars…" Lorelai muttered quietly.

Her and Luke were sitting in the backseat of her parents' Jaguar, and Lorelai was sulking. Not only had they left early, but she hadn't been able to bring coffee, because her travelmug was at home in Stars Hollow, and of course her parents wouldn't have anything as trivial as a travelmug. It had still been early when they left, so she was looking forward to sleeping, but of course her father had turned on that stupid GPS-machine that would gape out commands every other minute or so, so sleeping was out of the question.

"You're silly." Luke answered her. "Have you any idea how uneconomical that is, not to mention unecological?"

"Hey, I could've rode shotgun, and got some sleep, for me it would have been a win-win situation."

"Ever heard of earplugs?"

"They're ugly, and I always think they're going to get stuck."

"Why did I ask…" Luke muttered, amused.

"Are we there yet?" Lorelai asked her parents.

"Lorelai, you asked that ten minutes ago. We are ten minutes closer to Philadelphia. I swear, you are no different from when you were nine." Emily answered her.

"She is probably worse." Richard laughed. "At least during that trip she fell asleep for a couple of hours."

"Hey, I would sleep, if only that offensive thing would cut some of the shouting out."

"It is not shouting, Lorelai, it is giving me clear instructions on how to get to Philadelphia by safest and quickest way possible."

"Yeah well, I say it's corrupt…"

* * *

Two hours, three stops for coffee and a lot of talk about corrupt GPS-units later, they arrived in Philadelphia, and quickly found their way to Rory and Jess' apartment.

"Ridiculous…" Lorelai said when she looked at her watch. "It's Saturday, and I've been up for over five hours…"

"You do it for Rory." Luke comforted her, as they walked up the stairs to the apartment, closely followed by Emily and Richard.

Lorelai nodded, taking a deep breath. This would either work, and all would be good once agian, or it would get worse. She sincerly hoped for door number one.

Luke found the right door, and gave it a good knock. It was quiet inside.

"Are you sure she went to the apartment?" Emily asked.

"Where else would she go?" Lorelai replied.

"Well, doesn't that boy have some business associates here?" Richard questioned.

"Trust me dad, this is where she'd go, I would go here, and she is my daughter."

Truth to be told, Lorelai felt a bit nervous and unsure. Was she really that sure that Rory would go to the apartment? She hadn't been here long enough to make any real friends, and even though Rory knew Jess' two former roommates, Lorelai had gotten the impression that they had moved out because of them. She shook away the thoughts and banged the door.

"Rory!" she called out. "Rory, honey, it's me. And Luke, and grandma and grandpa."

She thought she heard something on the other side of the door.

"Babe, if you're in there, please open, or I'm gonna show your babypictures to the neighbours."

"Lorelai!" her mother gasped behind her. "You are making a scene."

"Chill out mom, no one's here besides us."

At that moment, the door clicked, and slowly swung open.

* * *

Rory heard the first knock, but didn't want to open it. It could be Jess. Or her mom. Or it could be one of the neighbours, wanting to borrow something. When she didn't answer the door, it was quiet, and she happily thought she had evaded an eventual confrontation with anything resembling a human being. Then came the banging, and her mom's voice. She flinched, and shot up from her makeshift bed, making a lot of noise while doing so. She was torn between wanting to answer the door and to stay right where she was. The judgmental express was on the other side of that door, and that could not be good. When the threat about her babypictures came, she couldn't resist. Screw her grandparents, she had to see her mom. Quietly, she walked over to the door, and opened it. She flung herself onto Lorelai as soon as they looked at each other. Rory kept her eyes closed, not wanting to look at her grandparents, especially not her grandmother.

"Okey honey, suffocating here." her mom said.

She reluctantly let go, opening her eyes. Luke was standing beside her mom, and behind them was Emily and Richard, both looking relieved.

"Come in." Rory told them, motioning them inside.

They all walked in, and settled down on to the sofa, while Rory remained standing, her arms crossed over her chest.

"So…" she said. "Am I to understand you're the rescuing party?"

"Well, for lack of a better name." Lorelai replied. "Honey, you had us worried."

Rory rolled her eyes, fidgeting with the sleeves of her shirt.

"Rory…" Emily began. "You know I would never…"

"But you did, grandma!" Rory interrupted. "You did, and you broke me and Jess apart!"

"I most certainly did not!" Emily said loudly, shooting up from her place on the sofa.

"Do you see a ring on my finger? No! Me and Jess are history, again, and this time it wasn't because he left or because I was with someone else. This one's on you grandma!"

Lorelai could hardly believe what she heard. This was like a bad rerun of her own teenage years, and it was coming from her daughter, the daughter she had tried to keep from throwing similar tantrums with her and the grandparents. She looked around. Luke looked hugely umcomfortable, and her father wasn't exactly looking like he was enjoying himself. Her mother was looking sternly at Rory, who was looking back.

"Okey…" Lorelai breathed, breaking the awkward silence. "Dad, Luke, how about you go get coffee? I saw a coffeeshop a block away."

"Terrific." Luke said, getting up from the sofa, and was at the door in no time.

Richard was right behind him, looking almost relieved to be excused.

"Take your time." Lorelai yelled as the door slammed shut.

* * *

It was quiet for a long time. Emily looked at Rory, who refused to look at anyone, and Lorelai stood inbetween them, not knowing who to look at.

"Right, now that we have the core of the problem here…Boy, do I feel awkward being the mediator…"

Both her mother and her daughter shot her angry looks, to which she shrugged. It was usually Rory that mediated when something was wrong between her and her mother, having things the other way round felt weird, and they should know it.

"I think we need to establish some basic facts here, guys." Lorelai began. "First of all, yes mom, I know you care about Rory, but this is your granddaughter, who has been nothing but perfect and capable of taking care of herself. You could have waited for her to ask you for help."

Emily was about to protest, when Lorelai put up her hand and turned to Rory.

"And babe, even though what grandma did was wrong, you didn't act your best either. She may have been the catalyst, but you were the one who left Jess, and skipped off to Philadelphia. You two could've talked, and this could have been resolved by now without tears, hijackings and the two of you leaving Stars Hollow without telling us."

"Mom..!"

"No. Neither of you behaved well, and I will not have my family break apart because of this. This will get fixed, and we will not leave this room until it is. Are we clear?"

Lorelai looked from Emily to Rory and back, both pouting like little kids.

"Do I need to send you to your rooms, kids?"

"We're clear…" Rory muttered.

"Thatta girl." Lorelai smiled, and then turned to Emily. "Mom?"

"I suppose it is acceptable."

"Great… I know dad and Luke will be back with coffee soon, but I'm dying. Please, please, honey, tell me you have coffee."

"Middle cabinet, tincan with a note taped on the lid."

"Luke's?"

"What else?"

* * *

Lorelai went out into the kitchen, leaving Rory and Emily alone in the livingroom. Both felt incredibly uncomfortable, and every small movement made them twitch.

"Why don't you come sit down, Rory." Emily said, in an attempt to soothe the strained atmosphere.

"I'm fine." Rory answered, trying to look away.

Emily sighed, reaching into the left pocket of her coat that she was still holding.

"I think this belongs to you, young lady."

Rory looked up. Her grandmother was holding something. She hesitantly walked over, finding it to be the engagement ring. She had to fight not to break out in tears at the sight of it.

"It's not mine anymore." she said as neutrally as possible.

Emily tilted her head, looking disapprovingly at her granddaughter.

"Rory, do you love that boy?"

"Jess." Rory said in response, hating to hear Jess being refered to as 'that boy'.

"I think you do." Emily continued, seemingly not paying attention to Rory's utterance. "I think you love him enough to run away just so you could avoid the path your mother was set for. Grand, themed wedding, expensive dress, and all the right guests. You know Richard and I love you like a second daughter, and this…this was my last chance."

"Last chance for what? Hijacking someone's life?"

"Don't sass me, young lady." Emily reproved, and looked at Rory. "I realize I may have been a tad… excited about this, and I may have jumped the gun, but I wanted you to have a wedding you would never forget, one that you would look back at with joy."

"You want me to be happy?" Rory asked, looking at Emily.

"Yes, of course."

"Then you should've kept out of it. I was heading for those joyful memories, I would have had them when I was ready for them. I was afraid of telling you about the engagement, because I feared it would lead to this, to you taking over. Why should I have to be afraid of that?"

"You shouldn't." Emily replied, taking Rory's hand in hers. "And for that I'm sorry."

She let go, and Rory felt something cold and hard in the palm of her hand. She knew what it was before she saw it. It was the ring, and she was afraid to look at it now. She clenched her fist together, feeling the cold hard ring press into her palm. Without a word, she turned on her heel and went into bathroom, and locked the door behind her.

"Rory?" Emily called after her.

* * *

In that moment, Lorelai came out from the kitchen, with three cups of coffee in her hands.

"Where is she?" she asked, looking at Emily.

"She walked into the bathroom."

"Okey, well, perhaps she needs a moment." Lorelai told her, and went over to the bathroom door. "Hey babe! There's coffee out here. Whenever you're ready, but it tastes better when it's hot."

She could feel how her mother rolled her eyes behind her back, and when Lorelai turned, she could see Emily's disapproving look.

"What?" Lorelai asked.

"Nothing I can do anything about…" Emily sighed, sitting down on the sofa.

Lorelai handed her mother a cup of coffee, putting Rory's cup on the table.

Half an hour later, their cups were empty, and Rory was still locked in the bathroom. Lorelai felt uneasy, and walked over to the bathroom door.

"Rory? Are you okey?"

There was no answer, so she pressed her ears to the door. There was something, a strange noise that she found didn't fit a bathroom.

"Okey baby, you're scaring mommy. Open the door and make mommy feel stupid for almost hyperventilating."

There was still no answer from Rory, and now Lorelai felt like she was really going to hyperventilate. When the front door lock began to rattle, she flinched, and her eyes shot to the door. Luke and Richard entered, after a small battle with the lock. "Had they taken a key?" Lorelai wondered. Then she understood.

* * *

Rory was sitting on the bathroom floor, trying to supress her sobs into oblivion. The engagement ring, that damned thing, lay on the sink, taunting her for her stupidity. She had blew it again, and her grandmother had been such an easy scapegoat. She was trapped in her own evil circle of self-blame, and she ignored her mother's knocks and pleads from the other side of the door. She heard the front door rattle and open, figuring Luke and her grandfather were back. "Great…" she thought. "Luke will probably break the door to get mom to stop freaking…" She was half expecting the banging and tearing to begin, but instead, there came knocks again. Her mom's last plead before sending in Iron-Fist Luke. She ignored them, hiding her face between her hands to escape the immediate pain of knowing the position she had put herself in.

"Rory?"

Immediately, her head shot up. That was not her mom. It wasn't Luke.

"Rory, it's Jess. Please open the door."

* * *

**A/N**: Read, review and rock my world!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**: I sort of felt bad for leaving the last chapter on such a major cliffhanger so I decided to update asap, and frankly, the cliffhanger annoyed me a bit too, but I couldn't take things further in chapter 10, so the cliffhanger was unavoidable. Anyhoo, here's chapter 11, making this my longest fic to date. *cheers* Rory and Jess in this chapter, I promise. My ship sail Lit for a reason. And if anyone, by any chance, is still wondering over where Rory spent the night, it will be revealed. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_11. Bathroom breakthroughs_

"Rory? Rory, it's Jess. Please open the door."

He was begging, and he didn't care. He absolutely hated begging, but this was different. He wasn't begging for money, for a break or even for himself. He was asking for something so much more important. He had swallowed his pride, and gone with Luke and Richard when they had met, not entirely by accident, at the coffee shop. Luke had practically begged him, and though it looked kinda pathetic (and Jess'd be sure to use it against Luke someday), he didn't bicker about it. He didn't even say no, which would often be the case, no matter what someone was asking him. There had always been the default 'no', or some kind of negative comment. Not this time, though. He had hung around that coffeeshop all morning, waiting for Luke and the Gilmores to drop by, because he knew they would, eventually. Now he was standing outside the bathroom door, pleading with the girl he loved, who was sitting on the other side.

"Rory?" Jess asked again, firmly.

* * *

On the other side of the door, Rory had quietly risen from her sitting position, and was now leaning against the door. He was so close.

"What?" she whispered quietly, hoping he would hear it.

And he did.

"Would you open the door?"

"Did they call you over?" she asked.

"No. I bumped into Richard and Luke when they came for coffee. Luke practically begged me to come, it was very unmanly of him."

She could hear Luke grunt in protest, and she smiled on the other side. Her Jess was funny.

"Can you open the door now?" he asked again.

Rory hesitated. Opening the door meant showing the others how broken she was. She felt so lost, it made her literally rip at the seams, or so she felt. Her hesitation didn't go unnoticed on the other side of the door.

"Do you want them to leave?"

She couldn't answer that. She wanted them to, but saying it out loud felt like such a horrible thing to do, especially with her mom there. Still, she wanted them not to be there. For no apparant reason, she nodded, reassured Jess wouldn't pick up on the nod.

But he did. A minute later, the door to the apartment opened and closed, and for a second, Rory feared that Jess had left with them.

"Are you there?" she asked with a hint of panic in her voice.

"I'm here." he replied, and she felt her heart rate go down.

They said nothing for a while, she leaned against the door on her side, and she felt his body leaning against the door on his side. Two inches. That was all between them, but it felt like it was much more.

"How many more times do I have to ask you to open the door for me, Rory?" came Jess' voice, so close to her now.

She hesitated again. What good would opening the door really do? She had blown it, this time she had left him, virtually non-existent explanantion and all. They sucked att goodbyes, so what real reason was there to open the door?

Him. His eyes. His scent. His lips. Even if they sucked at goodbyes, she wanted a better last memory of him than the one of leaving him and the engagement ring in Stars Hollow. A final look at him, here in her own twisted kind of sanctuary… It could be worse. She reached for the door knob, shimmied it a bit, and unlocked the door with a timid click. Here goes nothing.

* * *

"_And we have contact…" _Jess thought to himself at the sound of the door unlocking, and took a step back. He was expecting her to swing the door open, or at least do something, but after the click, there was nothing. He didn't know if she was still leaning up against the door, or if she had moved. She moved so quietly. He reached for the doorknob, twisted it, and slowly opened the door. For a moment Jess thought Rory had pulled a full on Houdini on him, because the bathroom appeared to be empty. Then he saw her. She was lying under her cover in the bathtub, looking all small and sad. He couldn't help but smile as he stepped into the bathroom, closed the door and locked it.

"You slept in the bathtub?" he asked curiously after having looked at her for a while.

"The bed smelled like you, and the sofa was going to harass me with movie mockings." she replied without looking at him.

Jess snickered. _"Of course…"_ he thought to himself, having adjusted to the idea of not questioning the reasoning of a Gilmore girl.

"And the bathtub was your only option?" he then asked.

"The floor is drafty, the closet uncomfortable and I wouldn't fit into the fridge even if I took out all the food, so yes, the bathtub looked pretty hospitable."

He walked over to the bathtub, and sat down on the edge of the tub, right next to her, sighing.

"Rory, what happened?"

"I think I saw it." was her short answer.

"Care to elaborate for those of us who don't have superpowers?"

"My hijacked wedding. Grandma's perfect wedding, in a theme I'd hate but couldn't say no to, because I don't have the guts to do so. Hundreds of people I don't know, and none of the ones I want to know and be there. People whispering about my mom behind her back, looking condecendingly at Luke, because he's not wearing proper attire. Me in a dress I would normally love to be in, just not there. And then you. Suffering silently in a tux you'd hate with a passion, on a wedding you'll go through only because the fiends behind it are my grandparents. It would be the start. And I don't want my first pancake to suck, so I can't have grandma hijack my pancake and make it suck for me."

"How did we get from weddings to pancakes?" Jess wondered, a small smile on his face.

"Jess." Rory told him disapprovingly. "Don't try to make this go away, because this is how it is, and don't tell me you don't know it."

He thought about it. She was probably right about a few things. Okey, so she had the wedding pegged to a tee, and yes, he wouldn't like it, but he'd go through the motions because of her.

"You could have said no." he then commented.

"To your proposal?"

"To Emily." Jess clarified, feeling a sting in his heart that she thought he meant the proposal.

"No!" she retorted, sitting up in the tub. "That's the thing, I can't. That's why I ended it and left. It felt so much easier to just… leave."

Jess wasn't sure how he should feel about that. She thought it was easier to break up with him than to man up to her grandmother?

"You know I love you." he said. "You know I would've helped you through it. I promised you you would have your long engagement."

She was finally looking at him, and he had to fight the feeling of drowing in her sad, blue eyes. She pulled up her knees against her chest, broke the gaze and leaned her head against her knees.

* * *

He couldn't just sit there anymore. He got into the tub, and pulled her against him. She was as intoxicating as ever, if not more._ "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or whatever shit people say…" _Jess thought as he rocked Rory back and forth. She didn't cry, didn't hyperventilate. She was just limp in his arms, much like she had been after the hysterics in the old apartment a year ago when their two hearts became one again.

"Rory? Are you okey?"

She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she took a couple of deep breaths, her head resting against his chest.

"All I wanted…" she began in her quiet little voice. "…was something that was my own. I have depended on them, all of them, for so long, and I just wanted something that was mine. Ours. Then she just steps in and wants to take over that, too. I panicked, and I screwed up, and left you. I was so stupid, and now look at me. I'm sleeping in a bathtub, your ring is taunting me from the sink, and you're just…"

"Here. I'm here. And the ring is not taunting you."

"It was. It doesn't dare taunt me when you're here. You should've seen it before. It was mean."

"Should I return it?" he joked.

When she didn't answer, he got worried.

"Do you want me to return it? Like permanently return it, and not come home with something less taunting?" he clarified.

She sighed again.

"As long as what it means will not be ours, then… I don't want it."

"Rory, come on! I have waited years for this, to be together with you and not have either of us leaving, and now you want to leave because Emily has control issues?"

Jess bit his lip. He didn't mean for it to come out like that, angry and annoyed, but it was just how things were.

"You know, it's easy for you to say, mr. Never Had A Problem Hurting People!" Rory yelled back at him.

"Wow, thanks for the confidence vote." he sneered back at her.

"I'm serious Jess!"

"So am I! I swear, it's like you're out of their poolhouse-prison, but still on parole. She is not your parole officer, Rory, and it's your life, your relationship, your engagement."

* * *

"There's still an engagement to speak of?" she asked after a moment of awkward silence.

Jess sighed. He loved her more than anything else, but sometimes…

"You promised to marry me, and I promised I would have you. Taking your ring off doesn't change that, at least not the latter."

"Then… I guess the first part hasn't changed either."

"Really? So you'll still have me?"

"How could I not?" Rory smiled. "But I still need grandma off my case before I'll have you."

"Right, Emily needs to chill. I think she likes me even less now, by the way." Jess mused.

"What did you do?"

"I went to see them."

"You did what!" she exclaimed.

"Not so much saw them, as… Well…"

"You didn't do anything stupid did you? Like… I don't know… Whatever corresponds to getting beaked in the eye?"

"There were raised voices." Jess admitted.

"No…"

"I promise, nothing more. No physical injuries."

"Is this why grandma had the engagement ring?" Rory asked.

"I might have given it to Emily."

"You gave it to grandma? This is so not ending well…"

"I promise, I gave it to her, said that I hoped her and your granddad were happy and then I left."

Rory groaned into her hands.

"What?" Jess asked, surprised at her reaction. "I thought I was very civilised under the circumstances!"

"Yeah well, before your little visit I called grandma and yelled at her."

"You yelled at Emily?"

"I did. I told her, in so many words, not to hijack my life and butt out."

"I'm rubbing off on you retroactively."

"Yeah well, I'm pretty sure I've already retroactively flunked out of Chilton, so I'm not surprised."

"Excuse me, what?"

"Nothing. Yale-incident. I sort of lost a Chilton-girl I was entrusted to guide around Yale. They found her at a kegparty if I'm not mistaken."

"The things I learn about you, it almost makes me proud."

"Stop it!" Rory laughed, hitting him in the chest.

Jess responded by hugging her close. They were still a 'they', and it made him feel like a person again. All through this incident he'd felt numb and empty, but now there was that spark glowing in him that only Rory could light. All was well again. For now. _"We might just have to stay in this bathroom to keep it that way…"_ he contemplated silently.

"So, we are still on, huh?" Rory said a couple of minutes later.

She was leaning against Jess, breathing in his signature scent of ginger root and something undefinable. It used to be ginger root, cigarettes and the undefinable, but the cigarette-smell wasn't there anymore. Rory didn't miss it.

"Oh yeah." Jess answered. "We are so on…"

They both broke down in giggles, because it sounded so cheesy. Amongst the giggles they heard a series of sharp raps at the front door.

"Babe and Rocky junior, you home?"

Jess said "Lorelai." at the same time Rory said "Mom.", and they giggled some more.

"You want to get that?" Jess then asked her.

"Only if you protect me from grandma."

"I'm your bodyguard."

"I think it's personal security nowadays."

"Whatever."

"Pulling out the babypics as we speak, and this time I mean it!" Lorelai shouted outside.

"You really need to housebreak her." Jess commented as they got out of the tub.

"And spoil the fun?" Rory countered. "You really need to spend more time with her."

"For my own sanity, I hope your kidding."

"I'll leave that to you." she said, and smiled mischievously as she walked toward the front door.

Jess groaned, and followed her.

* * *

**A/N**: The smell of Jess came from a dream I had. Nothing dirty, I promise. You know the drill: Read, review, rock my world.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**: Sorry for the holdup, but I swear, school is hijacking my life. I had my own personal hell-week last week and on top of that my internet has more or less broken down. Basically I'm stuck waiting for someone (apparantly someone who doesn't understand how important it is for a student to have working internet connection) to fix the problem. I'm already doubly-screwed, so hopefully they'll get if fixed properly and soon, so as to not add to my scewed-ness because that would suck. Anyhoo, here you go, chapter 12!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_12. We're getting there_

"Babe and Rocky junior, are you home?

Lorelai was positively jumping up and down, waiting for Rory to open.

"Lorelai, would you please not jump on my foot?" Luke asked her in a strained voice.

She ignored him, and prayed silently that Jess had gotten Rory to speak and that things were somewhat better now than before.

"Pulling out the baby pictures as we speak, and this time I mean it!" she instead shouted, jumping a bit more enthusiastically.

"Lorelai, would you stop doing that, it feels like the floor is about to give in!" Emily scolded her.

"Oh come on Mom, I know you're just as psyched as I am to see if Rory's better."

Her mother scoffed at the word 'psyched', probably not finding it an appropriate adjective to describe the her, Richard smiled, stifling a small laugh.

"Richard, this is not funny." she said.

"I know my love, but you are." he answered.

"I most certainly…" Emily began reproachfully.

She couldn't finish that sentence, as the door swung open. Rory and Jess were standing together in the doorway, Rory looking somewhat nervous, while Jess was holding his arm around her waist. Emily couldn't help but smile at them.

"Babe! What took you so long? Did you get stuck in the tub?"

Lorelai whirled forward, capturing her daughter in a hug, managing to get half of Jess stuck in there too.

"Okey, not breathing here!" Rory choked out.

"Right, air, breath, why can't I learn?" Lorelai rambled, hitting her forehead.

"And I was just explaining to Jess why I shouldn't housebreak you."

"Wow, thanks Rory." Jess muttered sarcastically.

"I love you too." Rory answered him smilingly.

"Housebreak me? Isn't Paul Anka enough? And why should I be housebroken? As far as I know I have a house, and at one point I was broke, so you can check that off your list, mister." Lorelai said and turned to Luke. "Luke, your nephew is so slow on the uptake. Has something happened? He had such a bright future…"

"See what I mean?" Jess told Rory, quirking an eyebrow.

"Not really."

"She's damaged for life." Luke chipped in.

"Hey!" mother and daughter echoed.

"Just kidding…"

"So, what, are we just gonna stand here and wait for the floor to give in?" Lorelai asked, making Emily roll her eyes at the comment.

"You can come in." Rory replied, and she and Jess stepped out of the doorway.

The four of them stepped inside, and closed the door. Richard took Emily's coat, and Luke, feeling he couldn't be any worse, did the same to Lorelai.

"So guys, are things okey?"

"Lorelai, for heaven's sake, let the youngsters be. I swear, it's like you've been raised by savages."

"I wouldn't put it past the citizens of Stars Hollow, mrs. Gilmore." Luke told her, looking amusedly at Lorelai.

"Coming from the man who is one." Lorelai pointed out.

"I'm the only sane person in that medical experiment of a town." Luke defended himself.

"Oh, don't say that uncle Luke…" Jess teased.

"You stay out of this, nephew!"

"He called me 'nephew'…"

"Oh boy…" Rory sighed.

* * *

"Rory," Emily said, trying to regain some normality in present company. "Are things… better?"

Rory took a deep breath. This would be hard.

"We talked. Jess and I, we… Yeah. We talked."

"I think she needs more than that…" Jess whispered to her, taking her hand.

"And… well, the engagement's on again, on the condition that no one butts in until I specifically asks them to. Then it's butts away." Rory finished, internally letting out a huge gust of relief.

Lorelai smiled at her. Rory figured she was proud of her for having the guts to stand up to Emily 'the marriage-grinch' Gilmore. Luke and Richard were unspecified, they probably didn't care that much, so long as Rory was happy. Emily… Well, to say that her grandmother looked pleased would have been a lie.

"Grandma," Rory tried. "This is… well I can't say it's personal, because it is. You were out of line there, and you see how that almost ended. But, you need to understand, I am not… I am not mom."

"And I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that." Lorelai muttered.

"I know you were afraid I'd leave you out of it, and that we'd run off and get married without letting you know it. I couldn't do that to you and grandpa, but I needed time, and you took that away from me."

Emily was quiet for a long time, and Rory could almost see what she was trying hard not to say. The words 'people' and 'talk' were involved, often in the same sentence.

"Emily." Richard said warmly, putting and arm around his wife's shoulders.

"I… suppose we can wait." Emily answered stiffly.

Rory smiled, and went to hug her grandmother.

"But can you at least give me a rough time frame?" Emily asked pleadingly.

"God mom, got much in your schedule? Some tennismatch you've booked years in advance?"

"Years?" Emily turned first to Lorelai and then to Rory, astounded.

"I think I asked for no one to butt in, mom, that means you, too." Rory told her mother.

"Definitely not naming baby Rory the Second."

"Thank God for that…" Luke grunted, only to get poked in the ribs. "Hey!"

"I'm hormonal." Lorelai said dismissively.

"So Rory, time frame? Roughly? That's all I'm asking for." Emily asked.

"I only just got back from the campaign trail. I need to unwind, and get moved in here properly, and get a job, and… Oh God, jobs!"

"What? What did I miss?" Lorelai asked confusedly.

"I have jobs!"

"You have a job?" Richard asked. "That's wonderful, Rory!"

"Yes, I got letters from the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Philadelphia City Paper. I need to call them and schedule job interviews, and…"

"Philadelphia Inquirer, that's an excellent newspaper, Rory. You're making your old grandfather very proud." Richard told her, swelling with pride, although he could have been talking to a wall for all the response he got.

Rory was flitting around nervously, trying to find the envelopes from the newspapers.

"Okey, calm down honey. This is not your hell-week from Chilton." Lorelai reminded her.

"You've got time, just relax." Jess agreed. "And your envelopes are in Stars Hollow, with all of our bags."

"And swans…" Lorelai teased, and got a dark look from Jess.

"But I need to prepare!" Rory protested, oblivious to the staring match between her fiancé and her mother.

"You so much as think that one more time and I'm calling up Paris so she can make you a whiteboard schedule." Jess smirked.

Rory had made the mistake of telling him about the whiteboard schedules Paris had made in what must have been some form of academic psychosis. Jess had teased her for it relentlessly, and reminding her about the whiteboard was enough to make Rory calm down a notch.

* * *

"You are playing dirty." she finally relented.

"And you love me for it."

He gave her a light kiss on the nose, and she quickly snuggled up against his neck, feeling like nothing bad could touch her there.

"Get a room if you're going to go gooey on us here."

"Oh, we're getting there, Lorelai." Jess told her and smiled wickedly.

"God, I think I might need a room now."

"I'm right behind you." Luke said, sounding very uncomfortable.

"Oh, behave like adult, you two." Emily scolded them.

"Mom, I'm fo… I am an adult!"

"Got a problem with your age there, Lorelai?" Jess asked her, tentatively arching an eyebrow.

"Not as much of a problem as you will have if you don't drop it, Rocky boy." Lorelai replied.

"I'm so going to take advantage of that…"

"You are four, again." Rory told Jess, kissing him lightly on the lips.

"Ugh!" Lorelai exclaimed hopelessly, staggering over to the sofa.

"So, what now?" Lorelai asked twenty minutes later from where she was sitting in the sofa, trying to conceal herself from Jess' and Rory's occasional acts of gooeyness.

"Like 'what now-now' or 'what now-undefinably later'?" Rory counter-asked.

"I can't decide. What have you got for now-now?"

Rory thought for a moment.

"I'm drawing a blank."

"Good, 'cause I've got something."

"And thank God I don't have a Bop-It." Rory mused.

"Hey! The Bop-It was great!"

"The Bop-It almost caused a physical fight."

"Did not!"

"Ask Luke!" Rory said, and pointed at Luke.

"I'm not getting involved in this!" Luke protested when Lorelai turned to eye him.

"The Bop-It was innocent." Lorelai claimed.

"You keep telling yourself that."

"So, wanna hear what I had in mind, or do you want to accuse any more of our belongings?"

"No, I'm good, go ahead."

Then Lorelai gave her daughter a smile that only Rory could decipher. The girls smiled at each other, before simoultaneously saying:

"Coffee!"

"You just had coffee!" Luke protested.

"That was subterfuge coffee, I want real coffee." Lorelai explained.

Luke was looking at Lorelai, not seeming to get the logic behind it. Jess smirked.

"Luke, I would have expected you of all people to not questions their insane logic."

"Yeah, well, at times I forget. They can act so normal, it's almost scary."

"Definitely not naming baby Luke!" Lorelai countered.

"Thank God for that." Jess said, earning a scolding look from Luke.

* * *

"Are you understanding any of this?" Richard asked Emily.

"Mystery." Emily said simply.

"I'd say this calls for extra-special coffee." Rory pointed out.

"You mean..?" Lorelai began, getting fervent nods in answer. "Oh Luuuke!"

"Do I want to know?" Luke asked, defeated.

"Kitchen, middle cupboard, tin can. Your blend." Rory explained.

"And?"

"Well, it wouldn't really be Luke's coffee if it wasn't made by Luke." Lorelai elaborated. "Now, coffee mister, chop chop! You got a pregnant girlfriend, an engaged almost-stepdaughter, her fiancé, which by the way is your nephew, and your future in-laws if you're brave enough to have me."

"Nuts, the pair of you." Luke told the girls accusingly, before trudging off into the kitchen.

* * *

**A/N**: Review and rock my slow internet connection!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N**: Sorrysorrysorrysorry for being so late with the update (and sorry for the bad rhyme…), but my internet is still stuck on "snail-slow", so I've been sitting on this one for a while just waiting for someone to fix the problem. Doesn't look like it's gonna happen anytime soon, so I don't have much choice. It took me a long time just to get the document uploaded, so well… Couldn't resist putting a little Rocky in this one, I just held a presentation that involved Rocky, so sue me if you don't like it. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_13. Rocky Do-Over_

"Seriously Luke, no one can make coffee like you." Lorelai said dreamily as she sipped from the cup she had been given.

"Yeah Luke, you're like the king of coffee." Rory teased.

"Don't feed her insanity!" Luke gruffed.

"Why Luke, you are so ungrateful." Lorelai continued. "We give you compliments and you gruff them away like that. You need to step up and embrace your awesomeness."

"'Embrace your awesomeness'?" Jess asked curiously. "That's weird, even for you Lorelai."

"Well, I saw a movie."

"Why did I even ask…"

"Oh! Now that we're here, there's something we must must must do!" Lorelai said, bouncing in her seat.

"And what what what is that?" Rory asked in the same tone, teasing her mother.

"Rocky!"

"What?" Jess asked.

"Not you, you're junior."

"Mom, I've already done the Rocky run."

Lorelai looked horrorstruck, staring at her daughter for what seemed like minutes.

"What is this… Rocky?" Richard ventured.

"Only an absolute must if you're in Philadelphia."

"Yes Lorelai, that much we gathered." her mother replied. "Would you mind elaborating on that?"

"Man, I can't even get this in one sentence. Loinfruit, help mommy out."

Rory laughed, doubting that her mom would be unable to fit the whole explanation in one sentence. It was more if she'd get it out in one breath.

"See, there's this movie character called Rocky Balboa, and in the movies he's this Philadelphia boxer, and in every movie…"

"There are more than one?" Richard asked.

"There are six, dad." Lorelai answered and groaned.

"Anyway, in each movie there's this training montage, and in every movie, except for Rocky IV, he's running up the stairs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It's a movie classic, and people visiting Philly tend to do the same."

"All this for a movie character?" Emily asked, surprised.

"He's even got a statue, right by the stairs." Jess filled in.

"Honey, I still can't believe you did this without me!" Lorelai exclaimed, having recovered from the shock.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't pass up the chance, there was almost no one else there, which means no one could see how stupid I look when I run…" Rory began.

"She did it in the middle of the night." Jess chipped in.

"It was not the middle of the night, it was just… dark."

"You're not supposed to do it in the dark, the point of doing the Rocky is to do it in daylight, I call do-over on your behalf, and I also second it, and Luke, if you don't third it, so help me God I'm gonna put Kirk on your tail."

"I third." Luke answered quickly, not wanting any more of Kirk than he already had.

Kirk's night terrors weren't completely over, so every now and again, Luke would find him sleeping in the garage (how he got in there was still a mystery), because allegedly, that garage was Kirks panicroom.

"And sold!" Lorelai concluded. "We are off to do the Rocky run."

"I'm taking the camera, this could be classic." Jess sniggered.

"You put one finger on that camera and you're gonna regret it more than mom when she's trying to re-enact Tonya Harding on the ice." Rory threatened him mischievously.

"I keep learning new and slightly disturbing things about your mom, and I don't even want to hurl on the inside."

"I heard that junior, and for that you're going to go first."

Jess groaned, earning him a chuckle from Rory, along with something along the lines of "the joy of the Gilmore super-hearing".

"Okey kids, off we go. Come on, let's be Rocky, one and all."

* * *

"Lorelai, you cannot possibly think your father and I will participate in this stunt!"

Emily's loud protesting had them at a temporary stop at the base of the steps. Lorelai had dragged them from the apartment, and since she had insisted they would go on foot and that she would lead the way, of course they got lost. It had taken Jess three blocks to convince her that he would get them there before nightfall.

"Oh mother, of course you're coming along, this is a once in a lifetime experience."

"One I'd rather not be part of, I've had enough to last me my remaining life."

"You're such a chicken, mom…"

"I am not!" Emily protested indignantly.

"Are too!"

"Lorelai, you are acting like you are five. Now, I am not running up these stupid steps, and neither is your father."

"I'm not?" Richard asked.

"You most certainly are not. You could get a heart attack. And you shouldn't do this either, Lorelai. Think of the baby."

"And just last week she was on me like a cheetah about how I need to excercise…" Richard muttered to Luke, smiling.

"Richard!"

"Okey, so dad can be the designated watcher. Note to self, dirty. But you, mom, you have no legitimate excuse. And as for baby here… Well, excercise is good for it, and it's probably the only excercise it will ever get."

"I still think you should not."

"And I think you're trying to snake your way out of this."

"Shoes." her mother said simply. "You can't possibly think I will run in these shoes."

"Like mine are any better."

"You are too young to know better."

"Oh, really? And you are what? Old?" Lorelai teased.

Emily seemed to take offense to this, and contemplated for a long while before she said:

"Fine. How do you do this thing?"

"Grandma is doing the Rocky run?" Rory whispered to Jess. "Now I kinda regret I didn't let you take the camera."

"Who said I didn't?" Jess whispered back.

"Because I…" Rory began, only to see Jess fish out the camera from the pocket inside the jacket. "You..! I should've guessed."

"Yeah, well, you wouldn't let me do anything fun in the Hollow…"

"I will so regret this… again."

Lorelai was in the midst of a very elaborate explanation of how to do the Rocky in a correct manner.

"And don't forget that when you're at the top of the stairs, you're supposed to put your hands in the air and jump around. And if I see you walk up those stairs I call do-over until you run."

"You will be the death of me, Lorelai."

"I'd say I live for it, but that would actually be a lie. So hon, Rocky junior, you ready?"

"As soon as Richard gets the hang of the camera." Jess answered.

"Mom, this will be the highpoint of this day. Grandma doing the Rocky run. I think that's a highpoint even for you."

"I have a gift, haven't I?"

Rory smiled, looking over her shoulder at Jess, who was still explaining the digital camera to Richard. The two men smiled conspiringly at each other, before Jess joined the others.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Rory asked him curiously.

"Beats me." he answered, kissing her on the forehead. "So, race you?"

"Like I would ever keep up with you."

"Only one way to find out."

"You ready over there?" Lorelai asked them, not waiting for an answer. "Okey, ready… set… go!"

* * *

The five of them set off, Jess taking the lead, followed by Luke. Lorelai followed them as best she could, while Rory kept pace with Emily.

"Goodness, what is this? Slow torture?" Emily huffed when they were halfway up.

"It's supposed to be fun, grandma."

"Well, it looks like those three have fun."

Her grandmother pointed upwards, where they could see Lorelai, Luke and Jess jump up and down, perfectly mimicking Rocky.

"You can have fun too, grandma." Rory smiled. "Come on, or they'll probably punish us with another lap."

They made their way up, and the sight of Emily jumping up and down was completely priceless. Lorelai broke down in fits of laughter, and Rory and Jess made a fairly successful attempt at hiding their laughter in huffs of exhaustion.

When they came down, Richard was sitting on a bench, smiling widely.

"Get any good pictures?" Jess asked him.

"You'll know when you see, young man. I want a copy." Richard answered him. "Very interesting camera, by the way. Emily, we should get one."

"If you promise me I don't have to do anything like that ever again." Emily told him.

"You looked splendid, dear."

"Yeah mom, you did the Rocky better than Rocky."

"Lorelai…" Emily said warningly.

"What? I was just saying…"

* * *

The rest of the day went by fairly good. Chris called Jess and asked him to come over to Truncheon for some alleged crisis, and of course Rory tagged along, and wherever Rory went, Lorelai went, in which case Luke didn't have much choice, and as for Emily and Richard, they followed out of curiousity. When they entered Truncheon, Chris jumped out from behind the counter, and Matt snuck out from behind them to close the door.

"Oh, man!" Chris exclaimed disappointedly.

"Where's the fire?" Jess asked calmly.

"Dude, you were supposed to be alone, not bring an entire posse!"

"Chris, man, did you forgot to take your meds today?"

Behind Jess, Emily flinched at the sound of 'meds', not understanding that Jess was joking.

"Yeah, because you are so sane…" Matt teased.

"Hey, if it wasn't for me, he would've caved in, and there would be a stupid bar somewhere named Cedar Bar Redux."

"Love the vote of confidence there, Jess."

"I'm only saying…"

"So what's with the crowd?" Chris asked.

"Oh, it's an intervention." Lorelai said happily. "Plus I got my mom to do the Rocky."

"Right…" Chris and Matt said, unsure of what to make of the statement.

"Well, I take it you remember Rory, and if you're really good, you'll remember my uncle Luke from when we had the open house. That insane woman is Rory's mom Lorelai, and this," Jess said, and turned to Emily and Richard. "This is Rory's grandparents, Emily and Richard."

"You wanna hear a real funny thing?" Lorelai asked, giggling to herself.

"Lorelai…" Luke tried.

"No, but it's funny, I swear!"

"You will not tell them the fruit joke."

"How did you..? I was not about to tell them the fruit joke, which by the way rocks."

"Yes you were.

"Was not!"

"Judging from your respons, yeah, you were." Luke concluded.

Lorelai proceeded to pout, trying to get Luke to soften, but he only gave her his patented "No with a built-in bark"-look. When this didn't work, she again turned her attention to Chris and Matt.

"Why are we here? What the crisis? Does it involve coffee?"

Matt and Chris were unable to answer, this whirlwind of a woman in fron of them had them completely blank. Jess smirked before stepping in to their rescue.

"I sort of caught Chris at a bad time when I came to Philly, and for that he was gonna bust my balls." he explained, noticing how Emily pursed her lips at his language. "They probably figured that I would be alone, or with Rory. In any case they thought they'd be able to take me down. Didn't figure I'd have a clan to back me up."

"You have strange friends, Jess…" Luke commented.

"Take them home to Stars Hollow and they'd fit right it." Jess retorted with a playful smile.

"Yeah, we could arrange playdates with Kirk." Rory joked.

"Did anyone say Kirk?" Matt asked, his curiousity piqued.

"No Matt, Captain Kirk has not stepped out of the land of television and settled in Stars Hollow." Jess told him with a sigh.

"Oh, he's a Trekkie, just like you Luke." Lorelai smiled.

"I am not a Trekkie!" Luke mumbled, looking embarrased.

"Yeah, nice try, I squared that with Mia, you're the pride of the Federation, buddy."

"Seriously, man? You're a Trekkie?" Matt asked Luke.

Luke squirmed, but it was too late. Matt got hold of him, and not five minutes later they were deeply involved in a discussion on whether Picard was a better captain that Kirk and which series kicked ass.

* * *

"That is so creepy it's almost cute." Lorelai whispered to Rory and nodded towards Luke and Matt.

The girls had been left alone while Jess and Chris gave Emily and Richard the grand tour, minus the upstairs apartment.

"To think he's tried to deny it for so long. He really needs to embrace his inner Trekkie."

"So hon, all's good between you and Rocky boy?"

"It's good." Rory confirmed, smilingly.

"So..?"

Rory looked at her mother with a questioning expression.

"Oh, loinfruit, you really need to be home more. I want details! Was it a _Streetcar_ kind of reunion with him being all Stanley Kowalski yelling "Stella!", or in your case "Rory!", but anyway, tell me!"

"No, he was very un-Stanley-ish. No yelling, though there were raised voices. I sat in the bathtub…"

"Please tell me you really didn't get stuck there?"

"Mom, I said I was sitting in the bathtub, not that I was trapped in it."

"And?"

"We talked."

"And?"

"That's about it, I guess."

"And?"

"And what, mom? We talked, nothing more. No one ran away, nothing out of the ordinary happened, although I rambled something about the engagement ring taunting me, which is true, but that's another story."

"That is… so not you."

"What, rambling? Hello, you are my mother, I learned from the best."

"No, no, I mean you and Jess just talking."

"Mom, how old am I?"

"Is that a trick question?"

"Not unless you want it to be."

"You're 24, honey, what's the significance?"

"Just that. I'm 24, not 16. Same goes for Jess."

"I'm sure some form of epiphany's supposed to kick in now, but I'm drawing a blank. It's Luke's fault. I didn't have my morning coffee-fix." Lorelai said and shrugged.

"Nevermind mom, it will come to you when you're all recharged again."

"You think if I drink enough coffee it will speed up baby here, so I could bypass the whole deal of carrying it around for 9 months?"

"Hard to say, though I would strongly advice against trying. Grandma and Luke will be on your tail like a couple of guard dogs."

The girls spotted Emily and Richard with Jess and Chris behind a couple of shelves. They looked from Emily to Luke, still deep in discussion with Matt.

"Can you imagine?" Lorelai whispered. "Grandma and Luke fighting on the same side."

"You better hope 9 months go past fast." Rory responded with a laugh.

* * *

**A/N**: Okey, so I got some last minute inspiration and threw in the Trekkie-stuff. Luke being all excited over Star Trek (and believe me, I know how that sounds, I'm engage to a Trekkie...) is just too good of an idea to waste. So, hope you liked it, review and rock my seriously depleated happy-inbox!


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N**: I'm so sorry for the delay, work's been kicking my butt, so I've been very tired. I should be used to it by now, but the first week's always the worst. Please comment if there are any embarrassing typo's or problems with continuity, I'm so tired right now it's a miracle I can walk. Main thing is, I'm back in business, and so are the Girls, their friends, family and loved ones. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characthers associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it...).

* * *

_14. The List_

"Are you insane? You are, aren't you?"

"Now why would you think that, Jess?" Matt asked, mock hurt.

"Because I know you, a little too well for my own mental safety," Jess pointed out.

"Harsh!"

Matt had managed to pry himself loose from the "intriguing" discussion with Luke, and had then suggested to Jess that since all of Rory's and Jess' stuff was back in the Hollow, him and Chris "…would tag along, sort of like a…" Here Jess had interrupted and asked if the words Matt were looking for were "social experiment". But Matt was impossible to discourage, and since Jess was so intent on trying to dissuade Matt, who really didn't take any notice, Chris was soon in on the trip, too.

"Rory!" Jess yelled, hysterics tinting his voice.

"Yes?" Rory answered a couple of bookcases away, where she was recommending books to her grandad.

"Would you please come and give the two nitwits here the basics on Stars Hollow?"

He could hear her sigh from where she was standing, and her light footsteps were soon headed their way.

"Let me guess," she said, when she came up behind Jess. "They're thinking of visiting?"

"Not so much thinking of coming, as planning on what to bring…"

"Well, I guess Kirk needs new friends… I think his imaginary ones have left him again," Rory pondered with an amused expression on her face.

"Who is this Kirk-dude, really?" Chris asked curiously.

"One of many nutjobs in that medical experiment of a town," Jess replied sarcastically.

"Hey, that's my home town you're talking about, junior!" Lorelai hollered from somewhere in the shop, followed by Emily's outraged: "Lorelai!"

"Your mother has freak-hearing," Jess snorted.

"It goes with the ability to know when Grandma calls," Rory whispered to him with a smile.

"Discourage them, please." he continued to beg.

"What's in it for me?"

"What? You're seriously going to make me plead?"

"You're fun to watch."

"You're cruel."

"You discourage them, you did a pretty good job of it yourself back in the days."

"They won't believe me, they think I exaggerate," Jess protested.

"Maybe because you do," Rory retorted with a knowing smile.

"Guys? We're still here. Still going. Not discouraged, but nice try. We're coming," Matt said, looking from Jess to Rory and back.

Jess came out from behind the counter and stomped off, muttering unintelligible curses under his breath.

* * *

"Jolly, the old Mariano's back," Chris noted with a laugh.

"Oh!" Matt then exclaimed. "Dude, insight… I'm leaving the state."

"Yes, that happens when you get in a car, and the driver of the car has a heading that is not within the Pennsylvania state limits," Rory said.

"Chris, it's time."

"Please, don't…" Chris whined.

"I'm serious," Matt said, piercing Chris with a look.

"I thought it was a joke!" the other answered in defense.

"You no longer have it?"

"Of course I have it, you'd kick my ass if I'd throw it!"

"What are we talking about?" Rory asked, confused.

"The guy's got a list," Chris answered.

"A list? Sounds mysterious. Is it a compilation of people with freaky abilities?"

"A compilation of freaky things, yes, but the freaky things are things he must do in the event he leaves state."

"He's never left Pennsylvania?"

"Never. Born, raised, educated, employed, in some ways spoiled… He's the prime Pennsylvanian. Why do you think it was Jess who got the honor of scouting for bookstores that would sell his novel?"

"You're not much better," Matt then countered.

"Hey, I went to Miami for spring break one year!"

"And you came back after only three days! Nevermind, bring forth the List," Matt demanded.

Chris sighed, quite loudly, and pulled out his wallet. From the wallet he dug out a torn piece of paper that he unfolded and, sighing heavily again, began reading.

"Item one: Do I have to leave?" Chris read monotonously.

"Dude, it's Mariano. 'Nuff said."

"Item two: Am I sure?"

"Okey, so you can skip to item six, the first five are just precautionary."

Rory had to hold back the laughter. How had Jess managed to live alone with these two?

"Item six: Is the coffee maker off?"

"Yes. Unless you've used it… I don't think… Hold on, I'll go check."

* * *

While Matt ran up to check on the coffee maker, Jess returned, seemingly calmer.

"Where's Matt?" he asked.

"He's up checking the coffee maker. There's a list involved, it's fun," Rory answered, full of laughter.

"Oh, no, don't tell me you still have it!" Jess moaned, and looked accusingly at Chris.

"Hey, you know how he is, he's freaking anal about stuff he entrusts to others! I never thought he'd get so far he'd actually leave the state!"

"What number are we on?"

"Six. He made me skip three, four and five, because they're all trying to make sure that he's sure he has to leave Pennsylvania."

"Oh God…"

"We're fine!" Matt then yelled from the stairs. "Coffee maker check, moving on!"

"Did someone say coffee?"

Lorelai popped out from between a couple of book cases, eyes alight with excitement.

"False alarm mom, as you were," Rory yelled back.

Lorelai huffed, and disappeared again.

"Okey, then… Item seven: Is Gertie all right?"

"Who's Gertie?" Jess asked, looking at Matt. "Don't tell my you've gotten laid...

"My plant," Matt replied, looking vehemently at Jess. "She died like a week after I wrote this…"

"Five years ago," Chris finished.

"Figures…" Jess muttered, a little too loud.

"Item eight!" Chris hurried, before a full argument could ensue between Matt and Jess. "Call my poet."

"Yeah, sort of like a Gertie déjà vu there. Poet's dumped, too much Golda Meir, too little constructive work."

"Item nine: Don't leave the state without wallet, keys, phone, Advil, legal pad, functioning pen, toothbrush, toothpaste, laptop, Scooby pajamas…"

"You have a Scooby pajamas?" Rory asked Matt amusedly.

"No comments. Moving on," Matt replied, embarrassed.

"Item ten… Oh, I'm gonna love this… Call Cammie, and beg until my tongue's numb."

"I move to strike that."

"Uh-uh, no can do. Below the ten items, you've written in bright red marker, underlined with five lines, that you under no circumstances may edit the list in any way that would, and I quote: 'compromise the existing items on the list', unquote."

All four of them stood silent. Jess was eyeing Matt intently, trying to surpress his laughter. Chris was already beaming widely, and Rory was looking from Jess to Matt, who was turning every shade of pale and red.

"I hate myself…" he finally managed to choke out. "If you'll excuse me, I'll go sign my death form now."

He turned around, walking away, nervously fiddling with his cell phone. That was it for Jess, he burst out in laughter, as did Chris.

* * *

"Who's Cammie?" Rory wondered after Matt had disapperared.

"The object of Matt's infatuation. He's a real sap when it comes to her," Jess replied.

"Why haven't I heard of her?"

"Because Matt tries to keep it under wraps. Think of it like you're trying to tear down a concrete wall with a butter knife, that's the kind of progress we're talking about when it comes to him and Cammie."

"She's not interested?"

"Sure. Just not in him. Not really into guys at all," Chris explained.

"She's gay?"

"And she makes pretty good coffee, too," Jess chipped in.

"Coffee!"

Again, it was Lorelai reacting to the word coffee.

"No coffee, mom!" Rory yelled back. "Luke, you still here?"

"Hiding somewhere by the non-descript artwork," came Luke's muffled voice from somewhere.

"Mom's spazzing out, coffee withdrawal pains. Could you maybe make her chill out until we leave?"

"I'm on it…" Luke grumbled in answer.

"So," Rory said, turning to Jess. "If this Cammie-girl makes pretty good coffee, why haven't you taken me to see her, and the coffee. You know I love coffee, it's the base of my food pyramid. It's taken over the base from pizza and Chinese food, and that says something."

"Have you entirely forgotten what you've been doing for the last couple of months?"

"I think hopscotching was involved. Along with some internal bashing about why I let you talk me into it."

"Yeah, well, it's been hard for me to take you to see the coffee, and its maker, when you've been off hopscotching."

"Right…" Rory anwered thoughtfully and lowered her voice. "May I see the famous Cammie-coffee now?"

"And I who thought she had a coffee-problem when she freaked out about her sacred Luke-coffee…" Chris mused.

"Rory. Your mom's got serious coffee withdrawal pains, and after all the glorious coffee moments I've witnessed between the two of you, I think that the only coffee that will get her to chill is Luke's. I suggest we do not prolong her suffering."

"Yeah? So you're taking us both to the Cammie-coffee?" Rory persisted, looking all wide-eyed and innocently at him.

"No, Rory. I'm saying you will see Cammie and her coffee, just not today. Lorelai, that's your mother, needs coffee. Luke's coffee, preferably at Luke's."

Rory was still eyeing him intently with her blue eyes. Jess suspected his fiancée was having some strange form of coffee withdrawal pains herself.

"Okay, in short: we need to get you both back to the Hollow. As soon as Matt has gotten numb tongue, and packed his stuff…" Jess said, noticing Chris' pointed glance. "Yeah, you too Chris. When these two are ready, we'll leave for Stars Hollow and the glorious coffee, okey?"

"Okay!"

* * *

Ten minutes later, Matt was still out, talking they presumed. Lorelai had already begun making jumping Jacks in between the bookcases while humming A-Ha's _Take on me_ to herself. Emily had given up on trying to make her daughter stop, and had instead joined her husband in looking at books. Luke had not been entirely successful in trying to get Lorelai to take it easy, and could only be presumed as hiding again by the non-descript artwork, while Jess, Rory and Chris was standing by the counter, waiting. No one reacted much when the door swung open, not until a melodic voice filled the silence.

"Okey, where's the twerp?"

Chris' and Jess' heads shot up, Rory flinched, and Lorelai stopped her jumping.

"Cammie?" Chris asked hesitantly.

"No, the cookie monster. Who else would show up to…" Cammie began sarcastically, but stopped when she noticed the large amount of eyes who looked at her. "What's with the crowd? Do I have something in my face?"

"I think it's the hair," Jess commented, nodding towards Cammies bright red hair with dark purple highlights.

"Neat, right? Fixed it yesterday. Now stop avoiding my question, Mariano."

"Which one?"

"Both, preferably!"

"We thought Matt was talking to you, but you're not on the phone, so he's probably still upstairs somewhere. The question now is whether or not he's even conscious anymore. I'll go check," Chris replied, and disappeared up the stairs.

"And the crowd… It's Rory's and my family," Jess carried on.

"Rory? The mysterious girlfriend? Blue eys, reporter and unmatched coffee addict?"

"I'm unmatched as long as you don't meet my mom," Rory answered, giving Cammie a nod and a smile. "Hi."

"Hi from me too!" Lorelai yelled from the bookcases.

"And now you have met, so now I'm matched." Rory commented happily.

"Okey…" Cammie mused. "So you're Rory, wow, amazing eyes you got there, girl. That's your mom... Who else is here?"

"Her mother's boyfriend, that's my uncle, and yeah, it's a little freaky." Jess told her. "Rory's grandparents are here somewhere too. Could you maybe keep your sexuality under wraps? I'm not sure they can handle much more extreme today."

"Like the hair won't give them an aneurysm?"

Jess gave her a pointed look, to which Cammie replied by throwing up her hands in surrender.

"So, the twerp, what's up with him?" she went on. "He calls me out of the blue, starts rambling about something, I didn't hear much, a 'convert' here and there, but then he goes on about leaving or something, I don't know. Is he dying? Was Chris serious about the whole consciousness-thing?"

"He's leaving Pennsylvania today," Jess answered, and saw how Cammie just stared at him.

"Seriously?" she said, obviously surprised. "Why?"

"They're coming to visit Stars Hollow. Rory and I sort of left our stuff there, and need to go get it. Apparantly they want to see the Social Experiment the Government Forgot."

"And Stars Hollow's in..?" Cammie asked.

"Connecticut," Rory replied. "It's really small, and not at all an experiment, I'm completely normal."

Rory gave Jess a pointed glance, to which he huffed, earning him an elbow in the side. From upstairs they could hear loud protests, and finally the door opened. Chris was herding Matt, who looked like a little cranky kid now, down the stairs.

"Cool!" Cammie said, seeing some form of opportunity present itself. "Can I come with?"

Jess began banging his head against the counter.

* * *

**A/N**: Will Jess let Cammie come to the Hollow? Will there be a coffee collaboration? I couldn't resist the Heroes-reference, I think I have Heroes withdrawal pains. Reviews rock the part of my day I spend not working!

Oh, and on another note. A while ago I did a kick-ass collaboration with **Kassandra27**, a oneshot JJ-fic called _"Once a Trekkie…"_. It's published under the account **TheRealDodger**, so check it out! It's fun-fun-fun!


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N**: Ah, chapter 15, and we're back in the Hollow, a sweet return! There is something about the Hollow. On the other hand, there's something about Philly, too, so check out _Cedar Park_, a collaboration between me and **Kassandra27** on our joint account **TheRealDodger**. On that note, enjoy the gang in the SH!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characthers associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it...).

* * *

_15. The beginners guide to Stars Hollow_

"Why are you like this, Jess? You are totally overreacting!"

Cammie had to raise her voice to get heard. Jess was still banging his head, cursing under his breath. They were on their way back to Stars Hollow, Rory driving, Jess in the passenger seat and Cammie, Matt and Chris in the back. Rory had immediately claimed driver-duty, when Jess had gotten a vicious look in his eyes. No matter how he tried, he couldn't dissuade Cammie, she had already made up her mind, and had happily skipped off to get her stuff from her nearby apartment. Luke had then suggested that him, Lorelai and Emily and Richard leave, so that Lorelai could get her coffee fix.

"This will not end well, and I only say this so I can say 'I told you so' later on, when you realize how extremely insane this is," Jess had told Rory as they waited for Cammie.

"You are being overdramatic, and what's the worst that could happen?"

"Your hometown could implode from all the insanity?" Jess suggested.

"You are four."

"Finally, someone who's with me!" Matt had exclaimed triumphantly, only to take cover behind Chris when Jess looked just about ready to attack him.

"Jess, I know you hear me, and I know you ignore me, so I'm just gonna keep talking 'til I wear you down, and you know I'm good at talking. I talked you down three years ago, I'm gonna do it again…" Cammie babbled, keeping her eyes locked on Jess' head.

"Wow, she means business," Chris commented.

"How so?" Rory wondered.

"She calls him Jess. She never does that, she always calls him Mariano, just to annoy him. When they met, he wanted people to call him Jess, but once she caught wind of his last name she began using it, and he got grumpy, and she actually called him Grumpy, and asked why she had to call him Jess."

"And he said, 'Fits the face', and then continued to pout," Matt continued before Rory had a chance to ask what Jess had answered.

"Well, it does," Jess said tiredly, and stopped banging.

"Houston, we have contact, fire the cannons and do a sillywalk, Jess is talking!" Cammie said, satisfied.

Jess sighed heavily, now resting his head against the dashboard. He then turned his face to Rory.

"I'm not talking to her," he said, nodding lightly towards the backseat.

"Don't be like that, JJ, you know you like me," Cammie protested.

Jess closed his eyes tightly, doing his best to ignore the power package in the back.

"JJ?" Rory asked.

"Drop it, or I might just have to off myself… again," Jess replied.

"You know you like me, you like my coffee, you want to shout at me, you want to blow your top…" Cammie continued in a sing song voice, sounding very much like Sandra Bullock in _Miss Congeniality_.

Rory sniggered. She could almost hear Jess grinding his teeth.

"What do you think, man?" Chris asked Matt. "I say two."

"No way, a half."

"A half or two of what?"

"Two…" began Chris.

"A half!" Matt said simultaneously.

"We're betting how many verses of that song our boy Jess will take before he explodes. I say two, but he thinks a half."

"Fun, I'm in! I say five, you grossly underestimate his patience."

* * *

Three hours later, the group was still recovering from the intense explosion that had been Jess, when his patience ran out. Rory had been forced to pull the car over to minimize the possible damages. Now, the entire car was silent. Matt and Chris had a somewhat shellshocked expression on their faces, Cammie was pouting, because Jess had made a somewhat off-comment about her. Jess was sulking, still looking like he could kill someone. Rory wasn't sure whether to interrupt the silence or not, but it was getting annoying. They were close to Stars Hollow now, having passed Hartford just minutes earlier.

"Okay, so we're close to the Hollow. Everyone can just put away the faces and prepare," she said, trying to sound chipper.

No reaction, neither from the front or the back of the car.

"I bet Kirk's out, maybe he's even put on his tweaked Kirk-in-the-box performance again, despite the fact that he was voted down."

Jess was pouting, intent on not getting carried away. Rory sighed, deciding this was getting out of hand. She pulled over just outside Stars Hollow.

"Okey," she said, turning around so she could face them all. "Even if I combined your ages right now, you wouldn't come up to my age. You're acting like babies, so get over yourselves. Matt, Chris, you can stop looking stupid now, it will make you easy prey for Taylor. Cammie, how can you pout about this, when you've known Jess for this long? Hell, if I know he's got a temper, then you definitely should! And Jess… The sulk doesn't fit you anymore, and seriously, why would it be so wrong for them to come see the place you met me in? You've said it multiple times, it's not like it's your hometown. It's not the end of the world, and you know it. I want you all on your best behaviour, or my town will make sure I never forget it. Understood?"

For a moment, there was silence. Cammie was the first to venture a silent "Fine…", followed by Matt's and Chris' dejected "Okay…". Jess held out the longest. Rory actually had to give him the Gilmore treatment, also known as her baby blues, before he relented, and even apologized to Cammie.

"Right," Rory said, immensly satisfied. "So, we're about to enter Stars Hollow, or as my lovely fiancé refers to it: 'the Social Experiment the Government Forgot'."

"Is there anything we should know?" Matt asked.

"Jackson is crazy about produce, and if Sookie gets her hands on you, you will walk out several pounds heavier. Taylor loves the rules, I actually think he sleeps with the rule book on his bedside table," Rory told them rapidly.

"No, he doesn't," Jess interrupted.

"What?"

All four in the car turned to Jess, who just sniggered.

"How do you know… No, wait, I don't want to know how you know that…" Rory said, and grimaced.

"I can also tell you that the town trubadour likes to sleep in the gazebo when no one sees him, and that Gypsy was secretly dating both Bootsy and Andrew when I was still around."

"Okay, that I wanna know how you know."

"I have my ways…" he simply replied.

"Anything else?" Chris wondered.

"Yeah, turn right three times and you're back where you started."

By the time they actually got out of the car, Matt and Chris were looking around carefully, bordering on scared, expecting crazy townfolk to jump out of the woodworks. Cammie, on the other hand, was strolling around carefree, taking in the sight of the smalltown.

"So, Rory, is there something here we should see?" she asked happily.

"Well…" Rory began. "My mom's inn is absolutely beautiful, and of course you need to go to Luke's, and if I remember correctly it's curry night at Al's Pancake world.

"Curry on pancakes?" Cammie asked disgusted, looking questioningly at Rory.

"He doesn't actually serve pancakes." Jess said. "He's settled for world cuisine, but he didn't bother changing the name. And that curry, by the way, is deadly, so unless you want to make houses fall down you should stay away from it."

"Don't listen to him, his palate is just shamefully limited." Rory teased.

"Okey, so inn, coffee and pancakehouse with no pancakes. Anything else?"

"Town meeting's already been, so I think you missed our primary source of entertainment. You should see Taylor, that's our town selectsmans, when he sees my mom eating junk food during the meetings. Oh, and word to the wise… You guys," she said, pointing at Chris and Matt. "should stay away from Miss Patty."

"Why?" Matt couldn't resist asking.

"Well, if you're lucky, you'll get by with a couple of pinches in the ass, but you're fairly handsome guys, so you might just find yourself ushered down the aisle to become her umptieth husband." Jess told the now scared guys.

"How could you live in this place?" Chris asked Rory, terrified.

"Easy, she was the town princess. They loved her."

"Hey, as far as I know, I'm still town princess, I don't know if Taylor dared to dethrone me after the shoutdown he got when we were here. Speaking of that, where's my red mat? The marching band?"

"Oh, we have royalty among us!" Cammie said, mock-impressed, and bowed.

"Come on, let's go to Luke's…"

* * *

Over at Luke's it was rush hour, and Rory and Jess quickly spotted Luke zooming in and out of the kitchen, almost always knocking Ceasar over.

"Rory, doll!"

It was Babbette who had spotted them, and at once, the entire diner turned around to cheerfully greet her, and give Jess a polite nod. A few of the patrons actually gave him a smile to go with the nod.

"Oh, and if Babbette comes over to talk to you, quickly make up a reason why you need to leave, and don't hesitate to use it," Rory whispered.

"Rory, Jess!" Luke yelled from behind the counter. "Can I get you anything?"

"Coffee, in a vat if possible, and a burger with fries."

"Coffee and ham on rye for me," Jess said.

"Thank God one of you has some culinary sense… Anything for you guys?"

"So you're Luke? The Luke? With the coffee, as in the coffee?" Cammie asked, intrigued.

"Should I answer that?" Luke said unsure, looking at Rory and Jess.

"I'll have the coffee," Cammie chirped, making her way through the crowd, plopping down on a stool by the counter.

"We'll have what Jess has," Chris said, pointing at himself and Matt.

"Okey, Insane food for Rory, three ham on rye and five coffees," Luke noted, and disappeared in the kitchen.

The gang joined Cammie by the counter, and Rory couldn't help noticing how the entire diner was glancing over at Cammie's very colorful hair.

"Rory, on second thought, pour yourselves coffee, I have a situation in the kitchen!"

"I'm sorry, Luke!" came Ceasar's voice.

"Wow, he's never let me in behind the counter before to get my own coffee."

"Really?" Cammie said.

"He's pretty stern about keeping the customers on the right side of the counter. He almost refused to let my mom's friend Sookie in just because she sort of shanghaied his food one time too many," Rory explained as she took out five large mugs and filled them with coffee.

Cammie immediately began sipping on the coffee, letting out satisfied sighs.

"This is good, what coffee does he use?" she mused, hopping down from the stool and went behind the counter. "Do you know where he keeps it?"

"Probably locked in somewhere, or my mom would nick it everytime we're here," Rory replied. "And I'd get out from behind there as fast as I can."

"Nonsense, he's not dangerous, is he?"

"I don't know, he's pretty efficient with a sledgehammer," Jess said, smiling wryly.

Cammie continued searching for the coffee, without finding anything. She then settled for investigating the coffeemaker, sniffing at the top. Just then, Luke came out with their food. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the girl who was sniffing his coffeemaker.

"Rory, what is she doing?" he hissed.

"It looks like she's sniffing your coffeemaker. She couldn't find your coffee."

"Well, get her out of there!"

"You make her. She doesn't bite," Jess teased.

"I can't make her! She's got red and purple hair for God's sake!"

"Oh, Luke, you old softie…" Rory smiled.

Luke gruffed, inhaling deeply.

"Miss..?" he began, flinching when Cammies head snapped up from the coffeemaker.

"Oh, hi! Shoot, I shouldn't be here, but that's okey, I'll leave soon. What brand of coffee do you use? And while we're at it, do you have some nutmeg? It could seriously do wonders for the coffee."

"No nutmeg," Luke replied dazed, since that was more or less the only understandable thing he'd gotten out of of that stream of words.

"Come on!" Cammie begged. "Some nutmeg, and I'll disappear. I'll even consider stepping out of the establishment."

"I'll get the nutmeg," Luke relented, disappearing into the kitchen, food still in his hands.

"But… my burger," Rory whined.

Luke seemed to have noticed he was holding something that shouldn't be there, as he reappeared seconds later, putting down their food in front of them.

"Nutmeg coming right up," he muttered without looking at Cammie.

* * *

An hour later, they stumbled out. Cammie looked like a cat who'd stumbled across some milk, and the rest of them were just happy to be out. During the hour that had passed, they had witnessed how Cammie slowly broke Luke down, making him try out all sorts of crazy flavoursupplements to the coffee. After a while, the whole place smelled of nutmeg-, cinnamon-, and even chocolate coffee, after which half of the diner wanted to try the different flavoured coffees. Luke looked like he was ready to faint, while Cammie zoomed in and out of his inventory.

"I like that place. And Luke was cool, I think I know why your mom likes him, the coffee was great," Cammie chattered.

"I think I'm overdosed on coffee…" Rory whined.

Cammie had, of course, made them her tasting jury, and even Rory's super stomach began protesting now.

They were walking aimlessly around the town square, stopping every few yards to catch their breath and try to exhale all the coffee fumes.

"Are we going to see the inn soon?" Cammie asked, seemingly the only one of the group not affected by the insane amounts of coffee.

"When I get my stomach back," Jess answered.

"Yeah, and I'll come when I have enough strength to keep my eyes open for more than five seconds. God, I thought you were supposed to get perky from drinking coffee."

"It's the nutmeg, I always drink it with my tea before I go to bed. Makes me go out like a light," Cammie informed them.

"How many times have we passed Doose's market?" Jess asked, groaning.

"I don't know. Is Kirk following us yet? I thought I saw him snoop around in the bushes."

"No one's snooping, not that I can tell. But… Where's Matt and Chris?" Cammie said.

* * *

**A/N**: Lost in Stars Hollow? Oh, how I love cliffhangers, they so motivate me to write. Another thing that motivates me: reviews. Keep me happy and motivated to write! Reviews keep me happy when my boss pisses me off.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N**: I feel like I've been neglecting this baby, but writing _Cedar Park_ is just so much fun. It helps to have a brilliant collaborator, so huzzah for **Kassandra27**! Anyway, back again to SH with Rory, Jess and Cammie. And Chris and Matt, wherever they are. And they're still there, they haven't been sucked in a wormhole and sent to… well, the Lost-island or something. Okay, I'm rambling. Enjoy chapter 16!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characthers associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it...).

* * *

_16. Lost..?_

"I can't believe it, you lost them?" Jess told Cammie accusingly.

"Hey, as far as I know, we lost them. I never volunteered for babysitting duty," Cammie replied pointedly.

"You know you have them wrapped around your pinky, one bat with your eyelashes and Matt follows you like a lost puppydog, and Chris will follow Matt just to see what happens, your default position is babysitter."

"I take great offense to that, Jess. It's not my fault your friends are a little thick in the head sometimes."

They looked sternly at each other, Cammie clearly offended by being crowned 'default babysitter' and Jess irritated that his co-workers were gone.

"Guys…" Rory tried, again having to play peacemaker. "It's Stars Hollow. Like Jess said, turn right three times and you're back where you started. They can't be far away."

"It's because it's Stars Hollow that they can be absolutely anywhere and gotten themselves into all kinds of trouble. God, Taylor's going to have a field day when this comes out! He'll probably cancel my banishment and go straight for public flagellation or hanging. After that, this town will get it's first APB, and I'll be the one they blame, so they'll revive me just so they can flagellate or hang me again for the fun of it," Jess ranted sourly.

"They banished you?" Cammie asked confused.

"They tried to," Rory explained. "Jess didn't really make a great impact on the ruling forces of Stars Hollow back in the days…"

"I thought my fake murder was hilarious," Jess pointed out. "And so did you, Rory, admit it."

Cammie laughed and Rory shot Jess a pointed glance before continuing:

"So Taylor, that's our town selectman, tried to banish him the other day with some stupid supplement of an even more morose bylaw that basically gave him power to banish any citizen of Stars Hollow, but didn't think about the fact that Jess doesn't live here."

"That, and Rory yelled at him," Jess added smugly.

"You yelled at your town selectman, and got away with it from what I understand?"

"Town princess, I can swing a lot of things. I even saved my mom from not getting to be the Renoir girl when we had the Festival of Living Art a couple of years ago."

"This town is so weird…" Cammie told Jess.

"Finally, she gets it," Jess sighed with a content smile.

"I like it!" Cammie then added.

"And the glimmer of hope is gone…"

"Okay, you," Rory said, turning to Jess."Take a breath and stop ranting. They're here somewhere, I'm sure of it. Now, we'll do another walk around the square, keep your eyes open, and if Taylor comes… Act casual."

"Or what?" Cammie asked.

"Or Jess might actually get flagellated."

* * *

They began walking slowly around the square, looking through the window of every establishment. They met Babbette and Miss Patty, and though Rory considered asking the two women if they'd seen Chris and Matt, she decided against it, not wanting to be the one responsible for any bodily harm Miss Patty could cause the guys if she literally got her hands on them. But since Miss Patty didn't make any surprise statement about having found husband number x, Chris and Matt must've avoided them.

"I don't get it, why can't we just ask anyone?" Cammie asked when Babbette and Miss Patty was out of earshot.

"Because this town has a certain system… Plus a gossip mill that would give the big time tabloids a run for their money. You do not want the wrong people to know you've lost something, or in this case someone, in this town. It's enough Taylor keeps pushing for things like killing birds and deer, missing persons in Stars Hollow would… well, it wouldn't be pretty. Trust me, you'd need to live here to get it," Rory tried to explain.

"Don't give her ideas!" Jess protested, eyeing Cammie intently.

"What? You mean I wouldn't fit into this town?" Cammie asked, mock-offended.

"I feel like I'm walking into a trap here, but what the heck… No, I'm sure you'd fit it, Stars Hollow wouldn't have much choice."

"So you mean you're concerned?"

"What?" Jess asked confused.

"You're concerned about this town that you supposedly detest. That could possibly be the cutest thing I've gotten out of you," Cammie proclaimed.

"I am not concerned, I merely stated facts. And I'm not cute, either."

"I think you're cute," Rory told him, and pouted.

"Yeah, but you're special. You havea special permission that says you can tell me I'm cute,"

"I want one too!" Cammie said in a childish tone.

"No."

"Please..?"

"No! You can't tell me I'm cute, it would be wrong on so many levels to hear it from you."

"This is so unfair."

"Get yourself a girlfriend, and knock yourself out," Jess sighed.

"That was so dirty, I'm surprised it came from you, Mariano."

"I can't help it," Jess said and shrugged his shoulders. "I just said it, you translated it into dirty."

"You keep telling yourself that, slugger," Rory joked. "Oh, act normal, Doose's market coming up!"

"Rory, you may have noted that Cammie has pink hair. According to Taylor's standards that's not normal," Jess pointed out.

"So..?" Cammie asked, looking from Jess to Rory.

"We're more or less doomed," Rory replied, glancing over towards Doose's market.

Not three seconds after they had passed the store, they could hear the door open.

"Ten says it's Taylor," Jess ventured.

"Fifteen says he won't be able to decide whether to bark at you or Cammie," Rory added.

"Twenty says he'll choose Mariano here," Cammie said, smiling devilishly.

"I fold," Jess said hastily.

"You can't fold! The bets are in, no more withdrawing."

"Cammie, this is not pokernight at your place. This is evasive actions in Stars Hollow," Jess tried.

"Doesn't matter. A bet's a bet's a bet. Rule of Cammie number 3."

"She has rules?" Rory whispered to Jess.

"Don't induldge her," Jess warned her.

"Excuse me!" came Taylor's voice from behind them.

All three of them turned around to see Taylor coming at them with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" he asked, looking at them. "Bringing in the seedy crowd, are we?"

"I'm not seedy!" Cammie protested loudly, making Taylor jump.

"You, miss, should know that you are associating with a known again, for all I know you could be in kahoots with him, with that hair you could be anything."

"Hey, I'm just his friend, I'm not 'in kahoots' with him. That'd be Rory. They're en…"

"Entranced by your hair, Cammie!" Rory hastened to say before Cammie could reveal the big secret.

They had told Cammie, Matt and Chris about the engagement in the car, but hadn't figured there would be need for them to know they couldn't tell anyone in Stars Hollow about it.

* * *

Cammie looked at Rory confused.

"What?"

"We're… very entranced by your hair, Cammie. Makes us real dizzy," Jess said, giving his red-haired friend a knowing look.

"Oh… Oh, I see…" Cammie finally said. "Yes, my hair is very… entrancing. Very inspiring too, I've heard. People have done crazy things."

Taylor eyed the three of them suspiciously.

"What are you up to?" he asked them.

"Oh, we're just walking around, Taylor, reminiscing. It was such a long time since Jess was here."

"He was here a couple of days ago," Taylor pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Well, we didn't really have time to take a nostalgic trip down memory lane," Rory tried.

"Exactly," Jess hedged. "I just told Cammie about the fake murder outside your fine establishment. Quite the drama, wasn't it?"

"That was you, young man, and you know it," Taylor said and pointed at him.

"Did a criminal investigation come to that conclusion?" Jess asked.

"No."

"Was there an investigation?"

"Well…"

"No, there wasn't Taylor, because the cops left once they had everyone accounted for."

"But..!" Taylor began.

"Innocent until proven guilty, Taylor. That's how it works in the real world." Jess said with a smirk.

Taylor looked sourly at him, before turning to walk back to the store, huffing as he went. Jess was still smirking when Taylor entered.

"You're pretty satisfied with yourself now, aren't you?" Rory asked him.

"Of course."

"Guys, lost idiots ahoy!" Cammie suddenly yelled.

"Where?" Jess asked, turning to Cammie.

"There! I saw them! Or well, I saw Chris' hair, but that's a pretty good giveaway," she said and pointed.

Jess and Rory looked towards the house at which Cammie was pointed.

"Figures…" Jess said, cursing under his breath, as he began walking. "I should've told them Andrew was some sort of psycho."

"Jess, they found the bookstore, not the mole people," Rory scolded him.

"Same thing, if not worse," Jess countered. "This can so not be good…"

"Or it's just peachy," Cammie offered behind him.

Jess didn't bother to answer, instead he opened the door to the bookstore and entered.

"Matt, Chris!" he yelled.

"Jess, why didn't you tell us about this place?" Matt said. "So much potential, and Andrew here is way cool. He's even offered to…"

"I don't care," Jess cut him off, turning to Andrew. "Sorry to bother you Andrew, these two weren't supposed to be here."

"Jess, quit being so cranky and turn your frown upside down." Chris told Jess. "We made a deal with Andrew."

"A deal?"

* * *

**A/N**: Yes, a deal! The question is: what sort of deal? Drop a review with your suggestion, and the best one makes it into the next chapter!


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N**: Right, so my little request in last chapter''s A/N didn't go too well, I got like two suggestions, so I took a little from each and blended them in, so congrats the two of you who left suggestions, you won! There, we're all winners. All's good. Moving on. I tried researching management transfer and how to take over a business, but Google didn't really give me any good results, so I'm whinging it (as usual).

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characthers associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it...).

* * *

_17: A deal is a deal is a deal is a deal…_

"You made a deal with Andrew?" Jess asked.

"Yes we did," Chris replied, smiling proudly.

"You never though about letting me in on the offer before closing the deal?"

"We didn't see you anywhere, and when we did, you were talking to some old guy, and from all of your warnings we thought it best not to interfere, so we shook on it with Andrew here just minutes ago."

Jess sighed, frustration clearly visible on his face, and turned to Andrew.

"Let's hear it," he said.

"I'm moving," Andrew replied.

"You're what?" Rory exclaimed. "You can't move!"

"Sorry, Rory, but I am. I inherited some distant cousin's house in Montana, and well, I've really wanted to live there, and I'm getting old, so why not? I've been trying to find a buyer for this place, but no one's been interested. Sales have gone down, especially since you moved, so that makes it even harder. Who'd want to take over a failing business?"

"This is where we come in," Matt filled in. "You know we've been talking about expanding Truncheon?"

"Yeah, but I was obviously naïve enough to think we were talking about expanding Truncheon within the Philadelphia city limits. I could've even extended it to Pennsylvania, but seriously guys… Another Truncheon in Stars Hollow?"

"Well, not exactly another Truncheon," Chris explained. "We'd keep it strictly literature and poetry from our own authors, perhaps try and cooperate with that… that movie theatre you've got."

"The Black, White and Read?" Rory said.

"Yeah, that one. With some marketing and advertising, it could be perfect."

"Fine, humour me, how would this be perfect?" Jess asked and waved his hands to indicate the bookstore.

"Bookstores are generally crappy places, no offense Andrew. Too many shelves stacked too closely, no space for enjoying the environment, perhaps sit down and read some…"

"No, because that's a library," Jess quipped sourly.

"Away with the tude and listen," Matt berated him. "I know you've got a library somewhere in this hole, but the books there are most likely of the kind that everyone know about, and you can't buy them."

"What we're suggesting is a combo of a library and a bookshop. We've got books that the libraries don't have, and authors who want their books to be read. Now, I hate to sound like a complete Ferengi…"

"A what?" Cammie interrupted.

"Incredibly greedy alien race of Star Trek fame, they're mainly concerned with making a profit," Matt replied automatically.

"Anyway, letting people just read for free won't give us a profit, so we're thinking we could have some sort of 'A buck a book'-kind of deal. One dollar to read the book in the facility, and if they want to buy it they can," Chris continued.

"You think people would pay to read?" Rory asked. "I don't know about you, but I think some of the more obstinate people in this town would claim that deal to be unfair, that books should be free for all to read."

"Hey, people buy books for insane sums. Why is it so insane for us to ask for one dollar and in turn they get to read? Besides, if they like it, they buy it and pay us a dollar plus full price for the book. If they don't like it, they pay us one dollar and save themselves x dollars for not buying the book. It's a win-win situation," Matt said, and shrugged his shoulders with a smile.

"And who would run this place?" Jess asked after a moments silence.

Suddenly, Matt and Chris didn't look so confident, and they tried to look everywhere but at him. It didn't take him long to know what they had in mind.

"No," he said firmly.

"Why? It would be perfect!"

"No, it would not! I can agree that your deal isn't all too crappy, and that in some parallell universe it would actually work, but not with me standing behind the counter. People in this town despise me. They have a morosely selective memory, and only remember me as 'town hoodlum'. You think they'd come visit this shop if I ran it?"

"This town gets tourists, right?" Chris tried.

"All of whom Taylor, head of tourism services in this town, will warn about going into the bookshop run by a hoodlum."

"Jess, leave Taylor to me," Rory said, trying to calm him down. "I think this is a great idea, and you know you like Stars Hollow, deep down inside."

Jess looked grumpily at her, and she responded with a stern look.

"Fine," he then gruffed. "But that liking lies deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down inside, just so you know it."

"Great!" Matt explained, almost jumping now. "I knew you'd go for it. What do you think, Cammie?"

Cammie had been standing quiet almost the whole time they'd been in the bookshop, save for the question about what Ferengis were, and was now solemnly looking around the shop.

"I think…" she began, looking around before settling for a spot in the right corner. "I think I want my coffee stand to be there."

"Excuse me?" Jess hissed, almost choking.

"I want in," Cammie replied simply.

"You do?" Chris and Matt asked simultaneously.

"Sure. Philly can do without me, and this is a fun place."

"But your coffee shop?" Rory asked.

"It's a franchise, they can find someone new."

"You don't know anyone here," Jess persisted.

"Sure I do. I know you and Rory, and I know Luke. Maybe I can swing some of his coffee to this place…"

Jess looked like he was about to explode, and he turned on his heel, leaving the bookshop with a strained "Excuse me". Rory looked at the guys with an apologetic look.

"I'll go after him, just… stay here."

* * *

Rory followed Jess to the bridge, where he was sitting, angrily throwing pebbles into the water.

"Jess…" Rory said hesitantly.

She didn't get any answer, her fiancé was looking straight ahead, fully concentrated on following the pebbles' path from his hands and down into the water.

"Jess, it's not such a bad idea. I know Matt and Chris, they can manage in Philly, despite what you think. You and Cammie could do wonders for that place, you with the books and she with the coffee."

"Who would come?" Jess asked bitterly. "The entire town still sees me as the no-good troublemaker that faked a murder, kidnapped a gnome and then ran away, leaving their precious town princess with a broken heart."

"Get over yourself Jess, and stop worrying about those people!" Rory told him angrily. "You are better than that, and you know it. Taylor is a schmuck, and this could be your chance to redeem yourself in the town's eyes. You have come so far, done so much and managing this bookstore is a fantastic opportunity!"

"What about Philly?"

"What about it?"

"You have a bunch of job opportunities lined up there."

"I can work long distance. I applied for jobs that wouldn't necessarily force me to work in Philadelphia. Plus, mom's pregnant, and I want to be here and give her support and run interference when she tries to kill Luke out of caffeine-deprivation."

Jess smirked, having no trouble imagining a pregnant, frantic Lorelai chasing a scared, coffee pot-hugging Luke through the streets.

"Where would we live?"

"Luke will probably live with mom in the house, so I think we have a fair shot at scoring the apartment upstairs from the diner."

"Cammie," he finally said.

"Cammie is a big girl."

"With red and purple hair."

"Kirk has night terrors, Miss Patty is a notorious succubus, Babbette names her gnomes, Mrs. Kim is crazy about tofu and Taylor is a megalomaniac. She'd fit right in," Rory calmed him.

"She's…" he began.

"She's your friend, and you're worried," Rory finished. "It's sweet, but I think she'd find it slightly condescending. Take this chance, Jess, please. This could be good, real good."

He stopped throwing pebbles, letting out a deep sigh before turning to her.

"I swear, you should be a hostage negotiator."

"Oh, I am. I once negotiated on behalf of all the hideous clothes is my mom's closet."

"Do I even want to know?"

"Rummage sale. I told her to clean out anything she'd be ashamed to wear in a car accident. Half of the closet was saved thanks to my skilled techniques," Rory smiled. "Now come on, you've got a deal to say yes to."

Jess got up, and together they walked back to town and into the bookstore.

* * *

"Can we afford it?" Jess asked the guys when he'd entered.

"Technically, you wouldn't have to buy it from me. I could just name you and the young girl my succeedors. Since you would be in charge, you have the right to make whatever changes you want to the shop," Andrew replied.

"You're the best Jess, seriously, this could be good. With advertisement we could get people from Hartford to come here. That town selectsman slash tourism dude of yours should be thrilled," Matt beamed.

"Where do we sign?" Jess asked, ignoring Matt.

"I'd have to talk to my lawyer, name you and..?" Andrew said, looking questioningly at Cammie.

"Cammie Rose, pleased to meet you," Cammie said, extending her hand to greet Andrew.

"…you and miss Rose here my succeedors, get the papers in order so that Taylor can't nail you for anything."

"Like he won't try anyway…" Jess smirked.

"Yeah, but you will have it on paper that you are the managers of this store legally, and as such, can make any changes you see fit to keep the business running."

"I'm beginning to like this more and more," Jess mused. "I have a chance to nail Taylor with actual paper work."

"I'll contact my lawyer, and I'll try to have the paper work ready in a week. Leave your number, and I'll contact you."

The door behind them opened as Jess scrawled down his cell number, and they all turned to see Kirk enter. He stopped dead when he saw the group of people standing in front of him.

"Why are you here?" he asked dumbly.

"What do you want, Kirk?" Andrew sighed.

"Kirk?" Matt exclaimed and took a couple of steps forward. "_The_ Kirk? Like the captain Kirk of this place?"

"Why is he doing that? Is he a danger?"

Rory, Jess, Cammie and Chris all smirked at Kirks increasing panic.

"Wow, I've heard so much about you!" Matt ranted on. "Well, not really that much, but dude, you're sort of famous, right?"

"Am I hallucinating him? Does anyone else see a rabid young man in here?"

"Why no, Kirk. Are you seeing things again?" Jess teased.

"Get off me, fiend!" Kirk cried, trying to push Matt away.

Matt, who found this display of nuttiness completely fascinating, continued to harass Kirk with inane questions, like had his mother watched Star Trek when she was pregnant, and was it true that he needed a new play mate. Kirk's expression turned more and more frantic, until he rushed out of the shop, wildly screaming for his mother, accompanied by the laughter of Jess, Cammie and Chris.

"I like him!" was all Matt said.

"You know Taylor will get you for this?" Rory told Jess.

"Not as much as I will get Taylor when this place re-opens."

Rory rolled her eyes at him.

"Come on, it should be lunch time at the Dragonfly. Sookie makes the most incredibly food."

"Food!" Chris yelled. "Where's the food?"

"Wow, I'd completely forgotten how food crazy he was…" Rory noted. "Come on."

"See ya Andrew!" Matt and Chris said as they left the book shop.

* * *

"Wow, this is incredible, we have another bookstore," Matt said for the fifth time.

"Not yet," Jess pointed out, also for the fifth time.

"Buzzkill."

"Jerk."

"Guys!" Cammie yelled. "Enough, you're giving me a head ache."

"I'm right there with you, sister," Rory whined.

"Rory, doll!" a voice then called behind them.

Rory and Jess stopped dead, the others stopping to see who was calling for her.

"That wouldn't be..?" Jess asked in a low voice, his back still turned away from the callers.

"Mm-hmm," Rory replied. "Miss Patty and Babbette."

"Can we hide somewhere?"

"I doubt it."

"Can we save Matt and Chris?"

"We can try."

"Okay," Jess said and turned to Matt, Chris and Cammie. "Cammie, pick either Matt or Chris."

"Why?" she asked, looking questioningly at him.

"Just do it?"

"Fine, Chris."

"What? Why didn't you pick me?" Matt prostested.

"Because you'd just pinch me in the ass and take full advantage of the situation."

"Okay, Cammie and Chris, you're my friends from Philly, and you're together."

"What?" both of them exclaimed.

"What about me?" Matt asked. "I feel very unsafe right now!"

"With Cammie, Chris is less likely to get molested. With one less to worry about, Jess and I can concentrate on keeping Matt from becoming Patty's next husband." Rory quickly explained.

"Next husband?" Matt echoed, panic in his voice.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just try to keep from walking in front of Patty. This should be a bit easier since they're both sober…"

They could hear the steps of the two women coming closer behind them.

"Smiles on," Rory ordered them.

They turned around, looking all happy and pleasantly surprised.

"Patty, Babbette!" Rory said.

"Hiya, doll!" Babbette greeted in her characteristic, shrill voice.

"Hello there, darling," Patty said, quickly noticing the male company. "Well, well, well, what handsome strangers have you brought to town, Rory?"

"Um… Well, you know Jess, he's… well, you know him. This is Matt and Chris, Jess' friends and co-workers from Philadelphia, and this is Cammie, she's Chris' girlfriend," Rory introduced them.

"I am Patricia LaCosta, but you can call me Patty," Patty said, adding in a rather seductive tone and with a pointed glance to Matt: "Any time you like…"

"Babbette Dell, Rory's neighbour. Wow, you are one fine looking group. Bold choice with the colors there, I remember when I tried to dye my hair red one time, turned purple on me, and then my hair started to fall off…" Babbette rambled.

Rory discreetly peeked around. Matt looked positively terrified, and Cammie and Chris tried hard to keep up the façade of being a couple.

"Are you on your way to the Dragonfly?" Jess intervened.

"Why yes, we heard Sookie's making her famous risotto," Patty replied. "Truly a wonder-risotto, if you ask me. What about you?"

"Oh, we're going too," Rory said. "Soon. Um… Jess just remembered he left his… his wallet in town!"

"Well, we'll see you later then, doll!"

The two women began walking again, and Miss Patty turned around, and looked longingly at Matt for a couple of seconds before following Babbette.

"Don't be a stranger," she called over he shoulder.

"I never want to come back to this town," Matt said once the ladies were out of earshot.

"Dude, agreed," Chris added.

"Wow, she's cool!" Cammie said.

"Babbette or Patty?" Rory asked.

"Both of them!"

"Only you could think that…" Jess told her.

"Come on, we need to hide," Rory said.

"Hide?"

"You want our story to hold? We can't go to the inn now, when Patty and Babbette think we've gone back to town."

"Thank God we have you to keep our minds focused."

"I feel violated," Matt whined.

"I feel dirty," Cammie chimed in.

"I told you so," Jess said in matter-of-fact tone as they walked back a bit.

"That food better be worth it…"

* * *

**A/N**: Kassandra wanted some more Kirk and Miss Patty/Babbette action, and I'm such a sap, so she got it. Hope you all enjoyed it. Show it by reviewing, keep the green-ish button happy!


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N**: Yeah, I know, major neglecting as far as this story goes. Cedar Park is just so much fun to write. Though as I read through last chapter I realized this is pretty fun too. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you're the reason I write. So, without much further ado, I give you… Chapter 18!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characthers associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_18. Risotto, retribution and returns_

"Are we clear?" Matt hissed.

The gang had been hiding behind a couple of bushes for a good fifteen minutes, Rory trying to calculate how long it would take them to get back to her house, "find" Jess' wallet and then get back.

"Why are you whispering?" Cammie wondered.

"I'm not whispering!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Okay, to your corners, kids, or you won't get dessert," Rory intervened.

"Rory, why are you hiding in the bushes?" came a voice above them.

It was Kirk, who had spotted them.

"We're… we're… searching for one of my piercings," Cammie replied quickly, flashing Kirk a smile.

Kirk eyed the group suspiciously, then leaned in, whispering to Jess:

"How many of you are there?"

"Three," Jess replied with a smug smile.

Kirk shot Matt a panicked look, before hurrying off. They all broke down laughing, falling all over each other.

* * *

"Seriously, are we clear? I have insects in my hair and leaves stuck to my butt," Matt whined, as they untangled themselves.

"That's nature Matt, but understandbly, you wouldn't know what that is, since you haven't left the state," Jess teased.

"There's nature in Pennsylvania, too!"

"Okay, anyone who wants food follows me!" Rory shouted, putting an end to the childish bicker.

Cammie and Chris were quick to follow her, while Jess and Matt sauntered a couple of yards after, still teasing and taunting each other.

"Those two, I swear, they're like an old married couple…" Cammie said.

"Really?" Rory replied with a smile. "You think they're aware they need to divorce now that Jess and I are engaged?"

"I wouldn't necessarily count on it…"

The inn was buzzing with guests when they entered. Michel was standing by the counter, and he shot Jess a nasty look when he spotted them.

"Hey Michel," Rory greeted the Frenchman.

Michel didn't answer her, but she could've sworn she heard him mutter something about "at least he is not dripping…" under his breath. She smiled to herself, waving to Michel before leading the group into the dining room.

"Wait here, I'll go check the kitchen, I bet Sookie can bump us up so we don't have to wait."

"I see it pays to have connections," Chris smiled. "What's a Sookie?"

"Master chef, and dead serious about food. She frequently names her creations."

"She names them?" Cammie asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Sure. She named my mom's wedding cake Clyde, and I actually think she mourned him when she threw him away…"

"Her mom never married the guy," Jess explained to the confused Philadelphians.

"Okay, you grab a table, I'll be right back," Rory smiled, before skipping off towards the kitchen.

* * *

Inside, her mom was fanning Sookie with a magazine.

"Hi mom, hi Sookie," she greeted.

"Hi honey, not now, Mommy needs to help Sookie, she's having trouble breathing."

"What, did you..? You know..?" Rory began, giving Lorelai a look.

"No, and let's keep it that way."

"Then why the fit?"

"Sookie won the Connecticut Chef of the Year," Lorelai told her excitedly.

"Sookie, that's awesome!" Rory squealed, and hurried forward to give Sookie a hug, which seemed to break her out of the fit.

"Rory, sweetie, hi! Okay, I'm back, I'm good, no worries. What can I do?"

"Well, the five of us…"

"Wait, what? Five?" Sookie asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, three of Jess' friends came with us from Philly. Anyway, we're sort of hungry, you think you could swing us some of that risotto, stat?"

"Sure honey, risotto will be out in a flash!"

"Thanks, Sook!"

Rory turned to leave, hearing how Sookie began asking Lorelai if there was something she wanted to tell her. Rory figured Sookie hadn't been completely out of it. Hopefully, her mother could divert the attention, or there would be no end to the Spanish Inquisition a'la Sookie.

"Food will be here in a bit," Rory told the gang when she sat down at their table.

"Is that what everyone else are eating?" Chris asked. "'Cause it smells freaking awesome."

Rory nodded.

"Trust me, the smell is nothing compared to the taste. this very risotto kept Sookie's mother alive for three years after a doctor had told her..."

Her explanation was interrupted by a shriek coming from the kitchen.

"What was that?" Matt asked.

Rory got a worried expression on her face, keeping her eyes on the kitchen door.

"Sookie," she finally said, furrowing her brow. "I think I outed mom."

"Outed her?" Chris asked.

"About the… you know… thing."

"The what? The thing? She has a thing?"

"Leave it Rory, he's hopeless with remembering stuff," Jess told her, with a crooked smile.

Then, another shriek erupted, making them all jump in their seats.

"Apparantly, it called for two celebrations," Cammie noted.

Rory shook her head, feeling how her stomach twisted.

"No, I don't think so. Sookie usually gets it over with in one burst, then there's the singing and cooing and… Oh, my God, no… No, no, no!"

"What?" Jess asked.

"I hate her…"

"This doesn't sound good."

"One word: retribution," Rory groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"She wouldn't…"

"Yes, she would, she's my mother!"

"What are you talking about?" Chris said, still looking completely lost.

"I sort of outed my mother, so she got me back by outing me and Jess!"

"Should we make a run for it? This doesn't sound good," Cammie asked.

"No, that would be like flaunting my ring in Sookie's face," Rory whispered.

"Then what do we do?"

"Sit here like nothing happened, and pray to God that it ends with the happy squeal," Jess explained, adding in a whisper: "As soon as we're done eating, I say we go back to Philly. The sooner we leave this medical experiment, the better."

"I'm in," Matt replied quickly.

"Missing the safety of Pennsylvania?" Chris asked him teasingly.

"Pennsylvania doesn't have that scary, man-hunting broad. Trust me, even the street girls aren't that desperate..."

Matt nodded towards the table where Babbette and Miss Patty sat. Miss Patty was eyeing the group idly, making kissy-faces at Matt in particular.

"Oh, fudge…" Cammie said seconds later.

"What?" Jess and Rory asked simultaneously.

"I take it that's Sookie?"

Cammie pointed towards the kitchen swingdoor, and they all saw Sookie making her way toward them with a waiter in tow, looking all excited.

"Oh, fudge," Rory concurred. "This will not end good."

"Do we have an exit strategy?" Jess wondered.

"I think our best bet is going through the kitchen, then run like hell. We pick up our stuff and then it's pedal to the metal all the way to Philly."

"That sounds so cool, like we're hunted by the mob," Matt mused.

"Trust me, this is worse than the mob. This is plain insanity just waiting to explode," Jess told him.

"Rory!" Sookie squealed, having reached the table.

"Sookie…" Rory said, a strained smile on her face.

"Here's your food, and I even reserved some of my special lemon-merengue pie for your special occasion."

"What special occasion?" Babbette asked, having overheard Sookie.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Jess tried to appease her.

"Come now, Rory, let me see it," Sookie half-whispered, yanking at Rory's left hand.

By now, everyone's eyes were on Rory and Sookie, and as soon as the first ray of light hit the shiny surface of the ring, all hell broke lose. Rory yanked her hand away from Sookie, unable to look around herself.

"Well, the ring's flaunted, should we run now?" Matt asked in a whisper.

Rory snapped her head down from Sookie's jubilant face and gave the group a pointed look that clearly said "Run!" and was off towards the kitchen before Babbette had even left her chair. Jess, Cammie, Chris and Matt were not slow on the uptake, following Rory through the kitchen. Lorelai was trying to hide behind a counter, but Rory still spotted her.

"So not cool, mom! You will be sorry for this, I promise you!" Rory yelled at her mom before bursting through the door that led out from the kitchen.

"It was reflexes!" Lorelai tried to explain, but Rory, Jess and their friends were already gone. "Honey? Oh, crap…"

* * *

They didn't stop running until they came closer to town.

"You, you and you," Rory said, exhausted, and pointed at Jess, Matt and Chris. "You go find the car and meet us at the Crap Shack. Go! Go!"

The guys were off like lightning, heading towards the town square where they'd left the car.

"And you and me?" Cammie asked, when the boys were gone

"No time for questions, we just need to get the hell out of Dodge, stat."

They began running again, heading for the Crap Shack. Cammie whined all the way, cursing under her breath that she needed to hit the gym more often. They managed to get home before the boys, and Rory led Cammie into her room, and told her to take Jess' bag and head out to wait for the boys.

"No, need, they're pulling up now," Cammie told her, looking out the window.

"Then go sit in the car, I'm right behind you."

Cammie obediently took Jess' bag and Rory could hear her close the front door after a couple of seconds. She took a couple of deep breaths. This was definitely not what she had planned, not by far. She felt childishly vindictive, thinking of all the ways she could make her mom suffer for this. A devilish grin spread over her face when the perfect idea popped up in her mind. She poked around the house until she found what she wanted, stuffed it in her bag, then scribbled a note to her mom and put it on the kitchen table, before heading out to the car. She opened the trunk, quickly threw in her bag and entered the car.

"Hit it!" she told Jess, who was driving.

"What took you?" he wondered.

"Nothing," she replied, trying to put on an innocent face.

"Yeah, right, nothing. What did you do?"

"Let's just say my mom will call me when she finds out."

"Finds out what?"

"You'll see…"

"Definitely rubbing off on you retroactively," Jess decided, and accelerated the car as they hit the outskirts of Stars Hollow.

"Next stop, Philadelphia!" Matt cheered happily in the back.

* * *

**A/N**: So, what did Rory snatch? Something of Lorelai's, obviously. Guesses welcome, no, infact I demand them. :p Drop a review, makes me update faster!


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N**: Sorry times ten over for being so slow with the update. School is hounding me, I've been sick and otherwise over all busy. But here it is, chapter 19, finished it just 15-or-so minutes ago. We'll all find out what Rory stole from Lorelai in the previous chapter. I got a few good guesses with last chapter's reviews, but none of you hit the jackpot. Happy reading!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characthers associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_19. The Negotiation  
_

The rest of the trip to Phialdephia went by fairly uneventfully. Matt made a sitting victory-dance when they entered Pennsylvania, and bounced in his seat like a little kid on Christmas. When they hit Philadelphia he was just a bout ready to burst into song.

"Stars Hollow wasn't bad, I admit it, though the creepy broad..." he began when they parked outside Truncheon.

"Miss Patty," Jess corrected him.

"As I said, the creepy broad with the sex-eyes really freaked me out," Matt persisted.

"Yeah, not bad at all for you, you didn't get outed by your mother," Rory countered.

"Trust me, being outed isn't that bad. Sure, it sucks major balls in the beginning, and it may suck even more if you're not the one doing the outing, but trust me. There are only pros about being outed," Cammie tried to comfort Rory.

"It is painfully clear she has never lived in Stars Hollow," Jess said, with a sideways glance to Rory.

"Well, I'm gonna live there at some point, so they'll just have to get used to me."

"Taylor will have a field day…"

"Oh, big, bad Taylor. Come on, he's old, bald and obnoxious, whereas I'm…"

"A nail in his eye?" Rory suggested.

"A thorn in his side?" Chris chipped in.

"I was going for absolutely fabulous, but I'll take what I get."

"Ab fab, sweetie darling," Rory teased.

"You need a movie/tv-show detox bad," Cammie taunted in return.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. A Gilmore without movies and tv-shows…" Jess warned

"Is no Gilmore at all," Rory finished. "Though I wonder what that makes Grandma? She does watch a ridiculous amount of ballroom dancing competitions, but I don't count that as good tv. It's more like torture, really."

Cammie laughed boisterously, and said goodbye to the gang. She had things to do at her coffeeshop, and plans to make for the future transfer to Stars Hollow. They waved her off before they took leave of Matt and Chris and headed for their own apartment.

* * *

"Okay, so what did you do at home that your mom will explode over?" Jess demanded when they were inside.

"Oh, just a little something…" Rory brushed him off with a knowing smile, putting her cellphone down on a coffee table and walked into the bedroom to change.

"You won't tell me?" Jess asked her as he followed.

"I find the secret rather entertaining," she told him teasingly, replacing her jeans with a couple of sweats.

"You know I wouldn't call your mom. Believe me, Lorelai having a fit is basically prime time entertainment.

On cue, Rory's phone began ringing wildly, playing My Chemical Romance's _Mama_ full blast.

"Take that for me, will you?" Rory asked, feigning inability to answer the phone by elaborately pulling off her shirt.

"I'm not rubbing off on you anymore, you are becoming me," Jess scolded her, but nevertheless went out to answer Rory's phone.

Rory could hear him answer politely, only to be interrupted by Lorelai. She could imagine her mom spluttering away words 80 miles per hour, upset with the situation.

"You want what?" Jess asked, confused. "Yes, she's here, where else would she be? Chill out, it's not like… Excuse me? I'm moving, stop harassing me!"

Jess walked over to Rory, and handed her the phone with a scolding look.

"Your mom wants to negotiate on behalf of your... whatever it is you're holding hostage," he told her curtly as Rory took the phone. "Oh, and I think she cursed at me."

"She did what?" Rory exclaimed, taking the phone. "Mom?"

Jess walked out of the room at this point.

"Where is she?" Lorelai demanded matter-of-factly.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Rory said, mock-aloof.

"You have Kitty, and I want to negotiate the safe return of her."

"Mom, 'Kitty' is a waffle iron, and hence doesn't have feelings."

"I will so pretend you didn't just say that. Is she okay? Have you broken any of the official rules that apply to waffle iron-hostage situations?" Lorelai continued.

"You mean have I used it?" Rory clarified, peeking into her bag, where the waffleiron lay, embedded in her own clothes.

"You didn't did you? 'Cause you know Kitty, she hates heat."

"She's a waffle iron, they're meant to be heated!"

"She has special needs, one of them being reasonable temperatures!"

"Mom, after the stunt you pulled on me at the Dragonfly, the least I could do was retaliate. Kitty's fine, at least for now. There have been no heating, no oil has touched the inlay, and in exchange for you promising to erase Sookie's memory and convince the town that I am not enganged, I will return her safely."

"Yeah, well, that's sort of a no can do…"

"Then I will not take responsibility for what happens to Kitty."

"I'll do you one better," Lorelai coaxed.

"What could be better than you making this whole mess go away?" Rory asked dejectedly

"By making it worse..? For me?" her mother suggested.

"Worse? How could worse be good?"

"'Cause I told everyone that I was knocked up. Apparantly that takes precedence over your engagement."

"You told people?"

"The only thing that could've topped my performance was if I'd done it at a town meeting, backed up by Siouxie and the Banshees."

"Followed by a very heartfelt version of 'Papa, don't preach', aimed for Taylor."

"God no, that would give me issues for life. Freud's skeleton would be involved, and I will not be busted for desecrating a grave."

"The Winchester-boys do it all the time."

"Yes, honey, and as much as I would like to be able to phone Dean and persuade him to dig up Freud, I don't think so. Plus, he'd most likely torch the guy before we could get down to business."

"Dirty!" Rory exclaimed jubilantly.

"Babe, I'm sorry. I panicked, it was Sookie, I tried to tell her not to go overboard."

"Sookie's Sookie. And I know, and I'm sorry for overreacting and skipping out of town with Kitty."

"So she's okay?"

"Fit as a fiddle. Or as a waffle iron."

"Thank God!"

"I'll bring her back with me next time we visit. Shouldn't be too long, whenever Jess and Cammie need to go to Stars Hollow to sign papers or stuff, I'll tag along."

"Yeah, and don't worry. People will be obsessed about my budding bun until the little bugger comes out, so no need to apply any evasive manouvers."

"Because the birth of another Gilmore offspring takes precedence over the fact that the existing offspring got engaged," Rory summed up, smiling widely..

"Don't we have the most spectacular townspeople?" Lorelai mused.

"The best. Hey, did you curse at Jess?"

"I did no such thing, where did he get that from?"

"What did you tell him?"

"I said, in so many words that I demanded to negotiate for Kitty's safe return. Granted, I may have been a little hysterical, but I didn't curse at him."

"He seems to think you did."

"He was lazy, so I said copper boom to him."

"Jess?" Rory yelled. "The thing that my mom said that you thought was cursing... Was it 'copper boom'?"

"May have been. Seriously, what's wrong with saying 'shit' and 'asshole'?" Jess replied from somewhere.

"She wasn't cursing at you, she was beckoning you to move faster."

"Ten-four, ma'am."

"Okay, so now he knows you didn't curse at him, everyone's happy."

"Goodie! Okay, I need to go barricade the door, or else the house will be swamped with people trying to throw me babyshowers."

"We need a secret knock or something," Rory smirked. "Bye mom."

"Bye my fruity kidnapper. Treat Kitty good!"

Rory laughed, and ended the call. When she turned around, Jess was standing in the doorway, looking suspiciously at her.

"What?" she asked him.

Then he began laughing, spotting Kitty the waffle iron among Rory's belongings.

"You kidnapped a waffle iron?" Jess managed to get out amidst his guffaws.

"I'll have you know that waffle iron's like a baby to my mom."

"I stole a gnome because it looked stupid, and the town blacklists me. You nick your mom's Hello Kitty! waffle iron and she calls you to have a hostage negotiation?"

"One would think that you'd know me by now."

"You never cease to amaze me," Jess said, and kissed her.

* * *

**A/N**: Yes, the Hello Kitty waffle iron that was mentioned a couple of times on the show made it into my fic. You liked it? Drop me a review and tell me what you thought. Reviews are better than waffle iron negotiations.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N**: Okay, guys, thank you so much for reviews and general support, it means a lot to me. I've been sort of mind-snatched, since I just started up a Twilight-fic, which for now takes some time as I have three fics to update. I'm trying my best to keep all three "alive", I wouldn't want to put any of them on hiatus, I enjoy writing them far too much. Okay, info over, enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characthers associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_20. Offended by the Mid-Casablanca sugar high?_

"Well, Miss Gilmore, I must say, you've given us quite a lot to think about. Your resumé is outstanding, your character references excellent. You are young, but not lacking in journalism experience."

Rory was at her first job interview, at , and she was surprised at the high praise. They had been back in Philadelphia for a week and a half, and she had felt that she hadn't gotten her resume and references in order the way she would've liked to. The editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer seemed to think otherwise, and Rory thanked God, the Cookiemonster, whoever was up there for making sure her references didn't suck. She had asked her boss at the online paper to write a reference for her, and she had managed to quickly skim through it. It was fine, she got very positive feedback. After that, she had figured she could need a character reference from someone she worked under at the Yale Daily News. This came with a certain dilemma: Paris or Doyle? A reference from either one of them could contain almost anything, Paris would try to overdo it and Doyle would… well, just try to get it over with. She still decided on Doyle, reasoning that since Paris hadn't really been a journalism major, it would look better to have Doyle give her a character reference.

Only problem was that Doyle took his time, which was never a good sign. She only got the reference a couple of hours before the interview, and had to toss the reference, still warm from the printer, into her folder and then rush off so as to beat traffic. Still, it seemed to not be Doyle's usual random rambling, and Rory made a mental note to read through Doyle's character reference when she got home.

"Thank you, sir," she replied instead with a smile. "I… I just hope I can live up to the expectations."

"I'm sure you can, Miss Gilmore. Now, would you tell me something about yourself?"

"I'm Rory Gilmore, well, technically Lorelai, my mom named me after herself, but everyone calls me Rory. I've always wanted to become a journalist, the new Christiane Amanpour…"

"Really, Christiane Amanpour?" the editor asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes, she writes the most amazing things, and she gets to travel. I actually met her once, it felt very surreal."

"Meeting our idols often is," he acknowledged, nodding his head at her explanation.

"Anyhow, the Amanpour-part has been put on hold for a while. I enjoy writing about almost anything. During my time at the Yale Daily News, I was assigned to the Features-section, and I did various articles for that, as you can see from my portfolio. The past year I've been following the Obama-campaign for an online paper, which was a new and exciting experience for me."

"In what way?"

"I got to experience the real life of a journalist. I don't mean that working at a school paper isn't tough, because it is, but this… This went beyond going across campus to review the ballet company's latest recital, it was the real world, and in the real world you live out of a suitcase, you don't sleep, you eat junkfood, sleep in drafty motels, all for the glory of getting to ask one important question and call it your own. It took me some time to get used to this new life, but I see now that it's all worth it."

"I see. Well, Miss Gilmore, what would you see yourself doing here at the Philadelphia Inquirer?"

"I'd like to try writing columns. It gives the writer much more freedom, and you can bond with the readers over things they know. Right now I sort of commute between Philly and my hometown in Connecticut, and there's a whole life there, a gallery of personalities, situations and memories that are just waiting to be put down on paper."

"Commuting? Would this in anyway affect the quality of your writing and the ability to keep to deadlines?"

"That's the beauty of it. It would enhance it. I have not missed a deadline yet, and I'm not about to break the trend. Articles can be submitted via the Internet these days, and I will still be in Philly, my… fiancé co-owns a bookstore here, so him and me would inevitably have to commute between Pennsylvania and Connecticut anyway," Rory explained enthusiastically. She wanted this job so bad, and if she could get to write a column the issue of communting or not commuting would be solved.

"Which bookstore is this you're talking about?"

"Oh, it's Truncheon Books…"

"Ah, yes, I know that one. I think Arts & Entertainment did a piece on them last year. Very interesting place."

"It is, it's also the reason behind the commute. They're opening a subsidiary of sorts in my hometown, and my fiancé…" Rory had to take a moment. Suddenly, calling Jess her 'fiancé' felt so ridiculously good. "Well, he and a friend got appointed to take care of it, and him and me are sort of a package deal now."

The editor scrawled down something on his papers, and then turned back to Rory.

"Well, seeing as you haven't been writing columns before, would you mind writing one as a tryout?"

"Right now?" Rory asked surprised, taken aback by the request.

"Well, you have stood out from most of the applicants already, but we would need to see that you are capable of the job before we can pick you as the lucky applicant who gets the position."

"How long do I have?"

"Let's see… Will thirty minute suffice? No wait, make it forty-five, then we'll both have time to get some lunch."

"Right… Thank you."

Rory didn't move, she didn't know if her time had begun yet. Forty-five minutes to write an outstanding column that would secure her the job at the Philadelphia Inquirer. Forty-five minutes that would possibly change her world.

"Tick, tock, Rory Gilmore."

The editor smiled encouragingly at her as she stumbled out of the chair, took her bag and headed for the door that led out of the office. Of course, the elevator took forever, and the queue to the cafeteria seemed endless, so when she had overpaid for a cup of coffee and a stale bagel, fifteen minutes had already passed. She took a small legal pad and a pencil out of her bag, and just stared at it, taking a bite off the bagel. It tasted horrible, not even remotely like something Luke would whip up for her and her mom. Food. That was easy. She began writing, detailing her and her mother's eating habits, or seen from Luke's perspective: lack thereof.

From food it was easy to segue into candy, and the standing pool for Friday Movie Nights regarding who would hit a sugar high first, also detailing the time that Kirk tried to undermine the honest pool with an attempt to be a bookie, but the only ones who placed bets with him were himself and his mother, so he quickly abandoned that one. Rory also wrote about the one time she almost ended up with a sugar high. She blamed the Tootsie Roll/Milk Duds-ratio her mother had put together for the evening. Lorelai blew off that weekend's pool, much to the townpeople's chagrin. Her mom may have been the greatest Poptart- and candy-fan out there, whose eyes got all glazed if you waved a pot of coffee in front of her, but when it came to her only offspring, none of that mattered, even less when that offspring dozed off mid-Casablanca, which was very uncharacteristic, if not straight out blasphemy.

Rory finished up with five minutes to spare, racing towards the office after clearing the elevator.

"Am I late?" she huffed as she swung open the editor's office door.

"Right on time, come on and sit down," he greeted her, and motioned to enter.

She fluttered over to the chair she had been sitting on before getting sent off, and tried to calm her pulse. She was not late, she had the column, it was all good… For now.

"So, Miss Gilmore, did you get anything written?"

"Yes, sir," she replied. "I think it may be too long. I get the rambling from my mom."

She handed him the paper with her column-attempt, and felt the nervosity spike. What if it wasn't good? Or if he found it offensive? Maybe he knew someone with diabetes who had gone into sugar coma, and here she had rambled on about how unacceptable it was to hit a sugar high in the middle of Casablanca! Rory instantly felt the need to just snatch the paper out the the editor's hand and just let the whole thing be.

"These are all real people you've written about?"

The question took Rory by surprise, and she snapped out of her frantic reverie.

"As real as you and me. Of course, should I get the position, I would edit the names, not that it would be hard to point them out in the street if you saw them."

"I see. And I take it you have recovered from the near-coma experience?" the editor grinned.

"Oh yes, my mother adjusted the ratio, and graciously let me win the pool for a month. Not that we actually win something ourselves, but we have a lot of fun with it, especially now since we know that Luke, our main coffee-supplier, put in a wager for mom to win every single week when she let me win."

The editor laughed heartily, putting aside the paper with her column.

"If you don't mind, I will keep your column as a workprint, since you haven't written columns before. Other than that, I think we're done here for today."

They both rose from the chairs they were sitting on, and Rory felt extremely formal and absurdly grown-up when she shook the editor's hand.

"Thank you, sir, for this opportunity," she said, shaking his hand profusely, trying to put her best foot forward.

"The pleasure was all mine, and I daresay you will give more experienced journalists a run for their money, Miss Gilmore."

She smiled at this, feeling all warm inside. She had a shot, she could get this, it wasn't completely unrealistic. She thanked him again, and headed for the office door.

"Miss Gilmore, one more thing," the editor called after her.

"Yes?" Rory turned around.

"Should you get this column, you need a name for it. Do you have one right now?"

Rory thought about it. A name for her column, one that fit, that described her and the content of the column. Something that sounded much like Stars Hollow. A smile played on her lips.

"My little corner of the world," she replied, before nodding goodbye and heading off towards the elevator.

It was good. It was perfect.

* * *

**A/N**: *gasp* What did Doyle write about Rory? Suggestions, anyone? Also: should Rory get the job at the Philadelphia Inquirer, or should she continue and go on another job interview? Leave a review and tell me what you think!


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N**: I'm so tardy there's simply no excuse. Shame on me, and whatnot. I finally sat down and just wrote what came to mind. It's mostly a filler chapter, I needed to just get a few minor things out of the way before I can move this story forward. Thank you to those who came with suggestions about this and that, it was very helpful. Thank you times two to gish who made me realize I really have to start watching the show over again.

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characthers associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_21. Mind Control Hats and Andrew McCarthy_

"Rory Gilmore is a fine journalist, and it was a priviledge having her at the Yale Daily News. She is thorough, and has an uncanny ability to inspire others to do their work and do it good, a fact that Logan Huntzberger can confirm. Equipped with with sharp wit and a keen eye for language, it is my belief, that Miss Gilmore will take whatever newspaper that offers her a place by storm. She certainly took the Yale Daily News by storm, and eventually ended up as skipper for this fine newspaper. Plus, she makes good newspaper hats."

"'She makes good newspaper hats'?" Rory asked incredulously, trying to snatch the paper out of Jess's hand.

She had come home from her interview, and had told Jess all about it, from the shaky beginning, to the lunch rush column to Doyle's surprising recommendation that didn't seem so crazy, at which point Jess had snatched the folder containing her resumé and recommendations out of her hands, and began reading the recommendation Doyle had sent over out loud.

"Do I even want to know why you've partaken in paper hat folding during your time at Yale?" Jess asked, smiling slyly. "Did you make one of those really ornate ones? Did you save it? Please say that you did, that would be a mental image I'd take with me to the grave."

"You'd take it to the grave, all right..." Rory commented pointedly, finally getting hold of the piece of paper, reading it through herself. "And it was tradition for new staff members to fold paper hats and be like slaves during the first night at the paper... Wow, he really didn't mess it up. Apart from the reference to Logan and the hat."

"Should I take that as a 'yes', then?"

"What?"

"That you still have that paper hat," Jess reminded her, and gave her a chocolatey puppy dog look.

"Yes, I still have it," Rory sighed, finding it particularly impossible to resist Jess and his eyes today. "But I don't know where it is."

"Liar!"

"Desperado."

"Pinocchio."

"Really? Does that make you my blue fairy?" Rory retorted teasingly, putting down the paper on a small table beside their couch. She had to stifle a laugh as a picture of Jess in a blue, sparkly dress, complete with pointy hat and spark-spewing wand, popped up in her head.

"Like I would ever be a chick…" Jess said, sounding insulted by the statement. "I'm too handsome to be a fairy."

"Fine, drop the hat-issue or you will be an elusive fairy in blue for as long as I live."

Given the choice between being thought of as a fruity fairy and, well… not being thought of as a fruity fairy, Jess opted for not pressing the matter further. That is, until he could search through her stuff for the hat uninterrupted.

"Fine. I will not mention your cute paper hat."

"It was not cute, it was very basic."

"I thought we weren't talking about it anymore?" Jess questioned, cocking his head to the side.

"You said it was cute, I just had to correct you, because it was not cute," rory explained, rolling her eyes.

"You're so weird."

"Yes, I am. And if I don't get coffee now, I'll get even more weird."

Jess excused himself, saying he needed to go over to Cammie for a bit to discuss "all the ridiculous ideas" she had for the Stars Hollow Truncheon-but-not-Truncheon-franchise.

"Trust me, if I don't nip this in the bud now, I will regret it to infinity and beyond," he said as he moved to the door.

"Because Cammie really seems like a girl who can be talked down by a guy. Good luck with that."

As soon as Jess was out the door, Rory ran into the bedroom, pulled out a box she had hidden in her closet, and rumbled through it until she found the ridiculous paper hat she had had to fold during that first "real" night at the Yale Daily News. Seriously, "makes good paper hats"? Had Doyle not seen the monstrosity Paris had folded? It had a freaking flower, and was folded to make the Yale Daily News-logo appear at the front!

She went back out into the livingroom, and picked up her phone from he purse and called Lorelai.

"I'm very busy and important, unless you're Andrew McCarthy in all your 80's glory, in which case I am free for anything," Lorelai answered.

"You do know that time warp phone calls only exist in movies, right?" Rory replied, snickering a bit. "And I thought you liked Emilio better."

"Yes, well, there was Emilio, but then there was his brother Charlie, but then Charlie went really bad, and I had to go back to Emilio, but then I lost interest right around the time he started doing hockey-movies, and there he was, Andrew McCarthy, being all angsty and smoking hot in _St. Elmo's Fire_, and I was sold."

"But the _Mighty Ducks_-movies and Charlie's bad habits kicked off way after _St. Elmo's Fire_…"

"Honey, you do know you can watch a movie more than once, right? I didn't notice Andrew the first time, I was too busy yelling at Emilio for pining after Andy, which was so wrong on extremely many levels. And when I wasn't yelling at Emilio I was trying to hide my blatant fascination with Rob Lowe. By the way, I totally belive in premarital sax."

"Okay, why did I even call?" Rory sighed into the phone, fingering the battered paper hat.

"I don't know, why did you call?"

"I need you to hide something for me."

"Hide something?"

"Yes."

"What, like illegal immigrants, a home made snuff movie, drugs or embarrassing baby pictures?"

"Well, the illegal immigrants are securely locked in my secret den," Rory prattled casually. "And though Jess thinks my love for coffee is unhealthy, I'm still pretty syre coffee's legal, and you've got all the embarrassing baby pictures. And why the heck would I have a home made snuff movie?"

"For reasons… No wait, those are reasons mommy doesn't want to know about."

"I need you to hide a paper hat," Rory interrupted her mom, before Lorelai could go off on another rant about nothing in particular.

"Excuse me? A paper hat? What's so dangerous about it? Can you control people with it and need to hide it because some secret government agency is after it?" Lorelai asked suspiciously.

"It's a paper hat I had to make when I started at the Yale Daily News. Doyle made the mistake of mentioning it in the recommendation he wrote for me, which Jess read, and now he's totally obsessed with the damn thing."

"The recommendation?"

"No, the paper hat!"

"Why?"

"How should I know? The ways of Jess Mariano are mysterious and not always logical."

"I could've told you that," Lorelai reasoned in a matter-of-factly voice.

"So can you hide it or not?" Rory asked again.

"Fine, send the innocent paper hat to me and I'll guard it with my life," her mother sighed at the other end of the line.

"I'll hold you to that."

"Fingers crossed, toes crossed, pinkie swear on Luke's coffee."

"Thank you. I'll go down to the post office and send it right away. The sooner this thing leaves Philadelphia, the better."

"Okay… So, the interview, did you do mommy proud?"

"I don't know, I hope so," Rory replied, biting her lip. "I mean, I said I wanted to write columns, so naturally I had to write one as a try-out since I hadn't written any columns before, but I think I did good. Hopefully, the editor doesn't think I'm nuts."

"Why would the editor think you're nuts? Not even Luke thinks your nuts, and you're related to me," Lorelai chuckled, and Rory could not help but smile. She so missed her mom.

"Well, I wrote about Stars Hollow, and all the crazy stuff we've done."

"I'm sorry, crazy? We are not crazy, we are… original!"

"Whatever you say, mom. Look, I gotta go, I'll call again soon."

"No, don't leave mommy! I'm bored, I'm lonely, I'm…"

"Go to Luke's and bug him, you like that. Bye mom."

"Traitor. Love you," Lorelai shouted, before they both hung up.

Rory smiled, and sat up, seeing Doyle's recommendation on the small table. She eyed it again, relishing the words on it.

_Rory Gilmore is a fine journalist, and it was a priviledge having her at the Yale Daily News._

With the smile still playing on her lips, she rose from the couch, pulled on a jacket and a pair of sneakers, and headed out, the paper hat folded under her arms.

* * *

**A/N**: Reviews make Jess find the paper hat.

_St. Elmo's Fire_ is a really brilliant Brat Pack-movie from 1985, which features stars like Emilio Estevez, Demi More, Rob Lowe and Andy McDowell. I remember Lorelai and Sookie discussing Emilio vs. Andrew in the episode "Festival of Living Art", and since _St. Elmo's Fire_ is the only movie I know of that feature both Emilio Estevez and Andrew McCarthy I couldn't resist using some references, since it's also one of my favourite 80's movies.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N**: See, this is the thing about juggling stories, you always feel like you haven't updated in forever. On the other hand, updating a story you feel like you haven't updated in forever gives you a great sense of accomplishment, so I guess that evens the playing field… Thank you everyone who reviewed last chapter, and though some of you may have been hoping for a chapter involving a certain paper hat… Sorry. Not this chapter. Rest assured, there will be a situation involving Jess, Rory and the Paper Hat. I will try my best to get it into chapter 23. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

* * *

_22. Paul Anka, Saffy and other assorted references_

Two weeks went by, and Rory was beginning to lose hope. After the interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, she had been to interviews with Philadelphia City Paper and , and there and been no word back yet from either one of them. She wasn't sure if this was good or not. Was two weeks too early or too late? Were she still in the running or was her try-out column lying in a rubbish bin somewhere? The thought alone irked her and made her jump everytime her phone rang.

She sighed, taking comfort in the fact that herself, Jess and Cammie would be going to Stars Hollow tomorrow. Andrew had called two days ago, saying he had the papers in order, all they needed to do was sign them. He had offered to mail them to Philadelphia, but Jess had insisted (after having made sure that Kirk no longer worked as a notary, since Rory had let that information slip) that they come to the Hollow to get the contract signed in person. This was undeniably good news, but to Rory it felt like this endeavour was fate's way of rubbing the fact that she herself didn't have a job, in her face. She did not want to end up at the Stars Hollow Gazette, where her first piece would probably be a first page article celebrating her homecoming…

Distraction. She needed it desperately, and so she got up from the couch where she was sitting and picked up her Sidekick from the small table by the door to call her mom. She realized as she dialled Lorelai's number, that she needed to pack, and headed towards the bedroom as the dialing tone sounded. Rory reflected briefly on how simple things had been before she had... grown up. Chilton seemed like a walk in the park compared to job-hunting, and that said something.

"The Gilmore residence, the lady of the house speaking!" Lorelai then answered with a chirp, and Rory could hear the unmistakeable sound of a flannel-clad grunt in the background.

"Mom? Put Luke on the phone, will you?" she asked her mother patiently.

"You don't want to talk to mommy?" her mother asked in a whiny voice.

"I just want to say hi to Luke before we begin."

"Fine… Oh, Luke..? It's my daughter, Rory! The one with the incomparable brains, an ex-hoodlum fiancé and killer looks to boot!"

There was a brief rustling noise before Luke's distressed voice took over.

"She is insane!" he nagged relentlessly into the phone. "She's been like this for days, and I have no idea where she's getting it from!"

"It's from a British tv-show," Rory explained calmly, pulling out her trusted suitcase from under the bed. "It's about this really funny lady who thinks she's upper class, so she answers the phone like mom did, only she says 'the Bucket residence'."

"Bouquet, isn't that French?" Luke asked, confused.

"No, no, they're really named Bucket, but pronouncing it like French makes it seem more classy."

"Naturally…"

"Has she begun singing _Rule, Britannia!_ yet?" Rory asked matter-of-factly, throwing the suitcase on the bed and prying it open with the phone jammed between her ear and her shoulder.

"No, should I be worried?"

"It all depends on how much more you can take."

Right then, Rory could hear how Lorelai eclaimed _"You're talking about me! Paul Anka would be appalled! And I mean dog-Paul Anka!"_ in the background.

"Save me," Luke begged her desperately.

"Hide the tapes when she's out, then put on _Godfather III_ when she gets home."

"Why _Godfather III_? Don't they kill people and suck on fat cigars like in the two previous movies?"

"Sofia dying-scene. Classic Gilmore mocking scene," Rory informed him proudly, ignoring the fact that Luke had more or less blasphemed by demeaning the intricate and entertaining plots of _Godfather_ and _Godfather II_.

"You mock someone who dies?" Luke countered, befuddled. "That can't be normal."

"It's the Gilmore way."

"And just when I thought there was some rationality to your insanity… Okay, your mom wants to monopolize the phone for an hour or so. It's good hearing from you, Rory. Tell Jess I said hi."

"I will. Bye, Luke."

It was quiet for a few seconds before her mother's voice sounded again.

"You are so spoiling my fun, you know that, right?" Lorelai complained.

"I told him to let you watch _Godfather III_, chill out," Rory reproached her, once again getting the feeling that she was the parent in their relationship, though that could be fun at times.

Lorelai lowered her voice to a whisper, which meant Luke was still within hearing range.

"Sofia dying?"

"Mm-hmm."

"You are so my favorite daughter, even when you pull a total Saffy on me."

"Ab fab, and other _Ab Fab_-expressions," Rory replied, smiling, mentally going through the list of what she had to pack.

"I expected so much more than that. What, no 'darling', no likening of your man to an antique store?"

"Well, I didn't call just to be your automatic reference-enabler…"

"Sad! Sad, lonely, abandoned…" her mother ranted unyieldingly, and Rory couldn't help but wonder how her mother had ever survived during the years Rory had spent at Yale.

"I called," she interrupted loudly, making her mother temporarily stop babbling. "…to tell you that I will be enabling you in person tomorrow."

Just saying that sent a jolt of excitement through her body. It was silly, really. It had been almost a month since they had been to Stars Hollow, and Rory still felt like she was six and it was Christmas morning.

"Happy!" Lorelai exclaimed into the phone. "Waffle's extremely very happy!"

"And apparantly losing her grasp of the English language…" Rory noted off-handedly, walking to the wardrobe, opening it to ponder her choices.

"Oh, shush, sweetie darling. Waffle's Belgian, what do you expect? Speaking of expecting, when can I expect to see you tomorrow, and how long will you be staying?"

"We, meaning myself, Jess and Cammie, will leave as early as we can…

"Okay, so you'll leave at 11 when Jess gets you out of bed without getting a violent response," Lorelai deadpanned, chuckling.

"Thanks for the confidence, but Jess and Cammie agreed to meet with Andrew at 11, so that trumps my sleeping needs, unfortunately…" Rory rebutted sensibly as she pulled out two pairs of jeans, a fancy skirt, a bunch of t-shirts, sweaters, socks and underwear, as well as a nice top and cardigan to go with the fancy skirt.

"Fine, so how long will you be staying, you never answered that one?"

"Probably over the weekend. Cammie needs to scope the place for an apartment, so Jess swtiched shifts with Chris tonight so he wouldn't have to go back to Philly alone on Friday night."

She walked from the closet back to the bed, haphazardly dumping the clothes into the suitcase. Shoes next.

"You're telling me he voluntarily switched shifts so he could stay the weekend, even it it means he'll have to go to Friday Night Dinner with the monsters formerly known as your grandparents?" Lorelai asked, souding abashed.

"Apparantly so," Rory affirmed, as she walked from the bedroom out to door, opening a small chest that held all her shoes.

"Wow… Even after the major debacle last time?"

"All evidence points to that… I need shoes."

"Black high heels for Friday Nightmare Dinner, loafers for looking pretty and sophisticated, and something crazy just for the heck of it," her mother quickly counted. "By the way, I'm still wowed."

"Thanks for the shoe tip. You're getting good, you don't even know what I packed," she complimented, pulling out a pair of sleek black pumps and a pair of zebra striped ballerinas she had bought on sale the day before. The loafers she used as everyday shoes would suffice for the trip and anything Stars Hollow might throw at her. Which, at this point could be anything, really. "And as for being wowed, I get it, moving on…"

"Did you or Jess tell Cammie that Taylor owns most of the apartments up for lease and that he doesn't haggle over the price? Like never, ever, ever?" her mother inquired, thankfully changing the subject.

"And spoil the fun?"

"You are so evil, and I am seriously liking it! Listen, mommy's gotta run, we've got a French party arriving at the inn today, and I need to be there when Michel pretends to be a Texan countryboy again."

"Bring him a Stetson hat," Rory laughed, trying to picture Michel with a texan accent.

"Already on it," Lorelai replied devilishly. "As soon as I get there, I'm gonna go on the internet and google one of those name generator-doohickeys and give Michel a cowboy name to go with his supposed texan heritage."

"And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen, scientific proof that evil is hereditary…"

"Hey, it isn't scientific unless we've been studied, and to my knowledge we haven't, though it would be kinda cool if there were scientists running around Stars Hollow, writing notes about us... Hey, does this mean you don't want me to text you Michel's cowboy name, possibly with a picture of him almost exploding in a girly cowboy hat?"

It was tempting. More than tempting. Michel in a cowboy hat, and Rory knew exactly which one her mother was referring to; the one she had snatched during the rummage sale conundrum of 2000.

"I'm evil…" she sighed heavily, walking back into the bedroom, throwing the shoes onto the pile of clothes in the suitcase.

"It'll be worth it, trust me. See you tomorrow, sweets."

"Can hardly wait…"

But her mother had already hung up when she muttered out the last statement, and she dropped the phone on the bed. People would talk, and ask her if she had a job yet, and it would pain her to have to tell them no. On the other hand, there was the unspoken promise of Lorelai reenacting Michels fit of rage from the cowboy hat and matching name. What could be better?

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**A/N**: Blame my fiancé, he's the one who got me to watch _Ab Fab_ and _Keeping Up Appearances_. He really has the strangest taste in tv shows: _Star Trek_, _Ab Fab_, _Keeping Up Appearances_, _Scrubs_… The reference to the antique store is my favourite _Ab Fab_-joke (perhaps one to use in the presence of Mama Kim..?):

_Eddy: __"Being married to him is like being married to an antiques shop, full of crap and always closed."_

I meant to take this chapter further, to at least get the gang to the Hollow, but there were far to many good references thrown around in this phone call to just jump ahead one day and get them from Philly to Stars Hollow, so this is just a filler chapter. Drop a review and I will with 100 % certainty reveal Michel's cowboy name in chapter 23.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N**: Thank you everyone who reviewed, and as I promised, this chapter will reveal Michel's cowboy name. Man, that was some funny research, it's really ridiculous how many name generators there are out there… I am in no way sure about whether the business talk is correct or not, I winged most of it, but hopefully I'm not totally out of line. Enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I won't even pretend to own YouTube. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

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_23. Even Cowboys Get the Occasional Annoyance_

"Are you excited? I am, I'm so stoked about this, this is so huge!" Cammie bubbled relentlessly.

She had been acting like a parrot on acid since they left Philly, repeatingly telling Rory and Jess how jazzed she was about the trip and the contract and the prospect of hunting for an apartment, and so on. Jess had already begun looking a bit stressed out, and only answered in hums or monosyllabic grunts when spoken to. Rory tried her best to run interference, and get Cammie sidetracked, but it was hard, and she only managed to get Cammie to talk about something else for more than five minutes when she asked about who was manning the coffee shop. That got Cammie talking about the person in question, Brent ("Mr. No-Social-Skills-To-Save-His-Ass"), from which she segued in wondering what would happen to the place after she moved, would it get a new manager, or would it get sold, and in that case, who would buy it and what would it turn into, 'cause "there was some wicked potential hidden under all the bureaucratic bullcrap".

"Why didn't you ever buy it?" Rory asked as they passed the Connecticut state line.

"I didn't have any clear ideas of what I wanted to do with the place. I tried, though, and it all came out way too crazy, right Jess?"

Rory glanced over at Jess, who actually seemed to smile fondly at the memory.

"Chippendales in pink Converses and neon bodypaint were involved," he replied with a dry laugh. "Thank God you decided not to take yourself seriously on that one…"

"Yeah, the bodypaint was perhaps a bit over the top…" Cammie mused dreamily.

Jess gave Rory a significant look, rolling his eyes. Rory snickered in response. Absolutely. The bodypaint was definitely the dealbreaker in that equation.

"Okay, so what's the itinerary here?" Cammie asked twenty minutes later.

"We've gone over your so called itinerary five times already," Jess muttered, not even looking back at Cammie.

"We have not!"

"Twice in Philadelphia, once in Trenton, once in Newark and once in New Haven," Jess counted.

"Hey, I like itineraries!" Cammie replied in defense. "I like order, I'm like a freaking Borg drone, right down to the 'resistence is futile'-bit, so just walk me through the damn thing, okay?"

"We get to Stars Hollow in a about an hour, maybe less if Jess doesn't mind speeding a bit," Rory replied quickly before Jess had time to throw in an insult. "We meet up with Andrew at the bookstore at 11, sign the papers, then have an early lunch at Luke's, after which we check the papers for apartments for rent."

"See, that wasn't so hard," Cammie pointed out to Jess, and stuck out her tongue, before she plugged in her iPod and cranked up the volume.

"You know she's gonna ask you again in ten minutes, right?" Jess said in a low voice.

"You make it sound like it's the grown-up version of 'are we there yet?'. We're in Stars Hollow soon, just hang in there," Rory replied sensibly.

They entered Stars Hollow forty-five minutes later, on time (mostly because Cammie had mixed an exceptional playlist and was too busy singing along to it to piss Jess off), and they drove straight to the bookstore. Andrew was waiting for them inside with the notary, Mike. Andrew quickly closed the store, hanging the "Away on lunch"-sign up front, while the trio entered through the back.

"Sorry about that," Andrew told them when they were all gathered in the backroom. "I figured you wanted to make as little fuss about this as possible, and lunch seemed like the best coverstory."

"Because this makes it look like you're away for Al's early lunchfest, and that's always a wildcard, so you can say you didn't like the spread and headed back to wait for lunc at Luke's, which is one hour from now, and considerably safer than lunch at Al's," Rory filled in knowingly.

"Right…" Andrew replied, not having thought quite that far ahead.

"Shall we get on with it then?" Mike rumbled, and Andrew quickly pulled out a folder filled with papers.

"I had my lawyer triple check these, so all you need to do is sign here, here, here and here. After this you are formally named as my successors. The store will be yours in two weeks, after which I have no claim whatsoever on this business. No one, meaning Taylor, can nail you for this, and you can make whatever changes you see fit to keep the business going. Of course, you can start planning already, but don't do anything until after two weeks, Taylor could, and would, nail you for that."

"What about incorporating it into the Philadelphia-business?" Jess asked while he eyed through the papers.

"And what about my coffee corner?" Cammie chipped in.

"Yeah, about that… My lawyer suggested that if you want to avoid as much local bureaucracy as possible, you shouldn't formally merge, because that could in some cases mean involvement from some higher administrative force here."

"And since Taylor's a member of basically every major and minor administrative shindig here, we want to avoid that."

"So, what my lawyer suggested," Andrew continued. "Was a sort of informal cooperation agreement. You could focus on selling the material you publish in Philadelphia. The agreement would only have to be signed by you two and the responsible party in Philly."

"And the coffee?" Cammie urged anxiously.

"That's the problem. First off, you need to contact the FDA, make a formal notification that you intend to distribute whatever food and beverages it is that you will distribute here, but that's not it. You'd need to notify the town council, and as we know…"

"Taylor's on the town council," Rory sighed heavily.

"Yeah. My lawyer is of no help there. He's never had to deal with Taylor, and if I want him to continue representing me, he needs to continue not dealing with Taylor."

"That's okay," Jess said appreciatively. "You did what you could. We'll figure it out on our own."

"All right. Let's get this show on the road."

The entire act of signing the papers was surprisingly uneventful, and Mike ducked out as soon as every i and t was dotted and crossed. Rory suspected Mike was a regular at Al's, and was desperate to get there before Al's early lunchfest was over, God knows why. If Grab Night at Al's was like picking a winning scratch ticket, the lunchfest was even worse.

"Congratulations, you two," Andrew said chipperly, interrupting Rory's extrapolations of Mike the Notary's food preferences (if his suspected liking of Al's lunch was anything to judge by, he was a hopeless case).

Andrew shook hands with all of them, lastly with Rory, and she suddenly felt a strong urge to hug Andrew.

"Make sure these two run this business like they want to," he told her with a smile.

"Yes, well, that may involve some sidetaking if I know at least one of them," Rory replied playfully, giving Jess a pointed look. How on earth Jess and Cammie would be able to agree on how to change the bookstore and then run it without going at each others' throats was beyond her comprehension.

Andrew laughed quietly at her remark.

"You were always my best, and most prolific customer, Rory."

"You're not gonna sneak out of town in the dead of night and leave everyone hanging, are you?" she asked.

"I'll announce the move at the next town meeting, and let the gossip mill do the rest. They'll come up with something soon enough.

"Thanks for this, Andrew," Jess said, shaking Andrew's hand again, and Cammie followed suit.

They said goodbye and snuck out the back, taking a minor detour before heading over to Luke's.

The diner was packed with people waiting for lunch, and the trio had to settle for the counter, since all the tables were taken. Luke were so busy he didn't notice them at first, but when he did, he sort of stiffened at the sight of Cammie.

"Relax," Cammie told Luke, picking up a menu. "I'm not gonna take over your coffee maker today, Mr. Danes. Sorry about that, by the way."

"What are you doing here?" Luke asked Jess, seeing as the 'threath' was averted.

"'Hello Jess and Rory, nice to see you'," Jess said sarcastically. "Hello, uncle Luke, we're good, how about you? Your baseball cap is as backwards as ever."

Luke heaved a sigh, looking crookedly at his nephew.

"Hello…" he deadpanned, pulling out his order notepad.

"Hi, Luke," Rory smiled warmly.

"Lunch? The usual?"

"What's the usual?" Cammie asked, still browsing through the menu.

"For you and me, it would be something at least remotely healthy," Jess remarked with a smirk.

"Cheeseburger with chilifries, and a cup of coffee," Rory ordered, then turned to Jess. "I'll have you know there is lettuce essence in that burger."

"You always pick out the lettuce," Luke pointed out and got a cross look from Rory. "Fine, I'm butting out."

"I'm siding with Luke," Jess said and saw Rory prepare her ultimate argument. "And just so you know, lettuce essence only counts as an actual vegetable intake in the Gilmore universe."

"Lettuce essence?" Cammie questioned, looking doubtingly at Rory.

"It totally counts," Rory countered, a bit flustered. "And as for the universe-thing, what universe have you been living in for the past year if not the Gilmore universe? You're totally on the level with lettuce essence satisfying my vegetable needs. Now can we please carry on and not talk about my food habits?"

"Grilled cheese sandwhich and a grilled chicken salad," Jess ordered quickly, not bothering to look at the menu.

"Is your chilaquiles good?" Cammie wondered, looking up from the menu.

"Ceasar seems to think so…" Luke commented darkly.

"You put the chilaquiles on the menu? You never add things unless you're backed into a corner and threatened with something unspeakable," Rory said, surprised.

"Ceasar wouldn't stop yelling chilaquiles, so I put it there to make him stop," Luke responded irritably.

"One chilaquiles, please!" Cammie then chirped.

"Oh, God…" Luke muttered, and shuffled off into the kitchen.

"Hey, is it okay if we stop by the inn before we go hunt for an apartment?" Rory asked while they were waiting for their food. Ceasar had already begun yelling "Chilaquiles!" in the kitchen. "Mom's torturing her French receptionist today, I wouldn't want to miss it."

"Now I know why it's impossible to watch French movies with you…" Jess noted jokingly.

"Sure, we can swing by the inn. French torture sounds great," Cammie said happily. "Does he curse in French, too?"

"Frequently," Rory replied with a smile.

"Super! I'm running out of foreign cursewords and insults to drop when I'm being pestered by idiots at bars."

"Note to self, don't let Cammie and Rory go on a girls' night out together…" Jess muttered to himself.

Luke brought their food ten minutes later, looking almost like he was in pain when he served Cammie her chilaquiles. Ceasar, so happy to have gotten an order of chilaquiles, was still shouting in the kitchen, and Cammie decided she wanted something in her coffee corner that would make her that happy, which made Jess grind down really hard on his grilled cheese.

They finished fifteen minutes later, heading for the inn, with Rory telling Cammie all the ways to get Michel worked up in a state. She recanted old gems like talking in a silly voice, preparing food for him the wrong way, not letting him count the blueberries and leaving her mother in charge of telling Michel that the time for a vital cd-drop had changed. Cammie laughed all the way to the inn, and they could hear Lorelai's incessant nagging already on the porch.

"Why Bubba Washington, you are a shame to your texan heritage," they could hear Lorelai shout in a very cheap Scarlet O'Hara-imitation.

"Stop calling me Bubba, I am French. French!" Michel yelled back. "And stop shoving that awful hat on me."

"Now, now, Pencil Eye Pete, every proud Texan needs a cowboy hat. Look at me, I have a hat, I even have a name, and my name kicks your name's butt!"

Rory couldn't keep from laughing, and they entered the inn, just in time to see Michel rush past them, a sparkly denim cowboy hat jammed on his head, shouting:

"I am not a Texan!"

"That's not what you told the French party when they arrived. Trust me, because I, Holster Holly, was there!" Lorelai replied loudly, emerging from the office behind the counter, wearing something that made Rory cold inside.

Lorelai rushed past them, not taking any notice, and Jess looked first at her, then at Rory.

"What is she..? Is that thing on her head what I think it is?"

"Mom!" Rory yelled, running after her mother.

Lorelai stopped dead, and Michel took his chance to rip off the cowboy hat and disappear up the stairs.

"Honey! You're here! Did you see Michel?"

"What are you wearing?" Rory demanded angrily, her arms crossed.

"Oh, it's…" Lorelai began, then realizing her mistake. "Shoot. I wasn't supposed to wear this, was I?"

"Especially not in company of other people!"

"And especially not with your f... with Jess watching, right?"

Rory turned around, seeing Jess looking at her amusedly, probably imagining her wearing the damn folded paper hat that Lorelai was wearing.

"I asked you to hide that thing!"

"I did, I really hid it, but then I got so swept up in the 'annoy Michel'-scheme, and I got myself a cowboy name, I even got you a cowboy name, and then I needed a hat, but because Michel got the sparkly denim one, and I couldn't find another hat, I though I could use this one. I swear, I didn't think you'd turn up until dinner, and by then Michel would've blown his top, and all the fun would be over."

"It was a simple request, mom, hide the paper hat. How do I know you haven't been parading around Stars Hollow wearing it since the day you got it, huh? Have you told them? Since I can't trust you to hide a freaking paper hat, then how can I be sure you haven't let everyone know that me and Jess are engaged, huh? How many know?"

The look on her mother's face, accompanied by a rather loud "Oh"-sound from the dining hall was enough to make Rory realize she'd just made a huge mistake. Babbette was probably in there, maybe East Side Tilly, too. Taylor would occasionally have lunch at the inn, which meant that the secret would be out on the town within moments. She turned on her heel, rushing out.

"Don't follow me," she hissed at Jess and Cammie when she went past them.

This was bad. Very bad. Like _Detroit Rock City_-burning the tickets bad, if not worse, and it was her fault. Shoot.

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**A/N**: I think it's the beginning of the end of this fic, but perhaps it's best. They need to get hitched eventually, right? (Come to think of it, so do I... Eventually.) Drop a review and tell me what you think!


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Thank you reviewers and those of you who read but didn't review! Sorry it took me sol long to get this up, I've been keeping my fanfic-chapters on different external harddrives, so it's taken me some time to finish. Anyhoo, I'm back with a new chapter, and for those who like Cammie, I think you'll really like this chapter. Cammie's been in a couple of stories now, and I felt I wanted to expand on her character a bit, so we had a little heart-to-keyboard kind of talk. Enjoy chapter 24!

Disclaimer: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characthers associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it...).

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_24. Pursuit of Some Kind of Happiness_

"How'd you find me?" Rory asked neutrally when the sound of clicking shoes behind her stopped.

She'd fled to the old bridge, and sat there with her feet dangling, the soles almost touching the water. A couple of yards ahead, a family of ducks were engaged in something that looked to violent to be playing (they could possibly be related to the infamous Armbrewsters considering how they seemed to try to drown one another). She felt so stupid for dropping the bomb like that. After all, she was the one who had asked for the secrecy.

"Jess told me you liked to hang out here," Cammie replied and sat down next to her, opting for sitting tailor style on the bridge.

The little duck family stopped their little drowning game for a while, and began swimming around the little pond, acting all duck-like. Neither Cammie, nor Rory said anything for a long time.

"How's Jess?" Rory finally asked, keeping her gaze fixed on the swimming ducks.

"Bookboy's fine. Mostly fine… He's okay," Cammie responded fleetingly.

"He's 'okay'?"

"He caused quite a scene. After you ran out, half the town came tumbling through the dining room doors, wanting to congratulate you and see your ring and offer you advice. Jess blew his top and yelled at them like I've never seen him yell before. Seriously, it was shocking. I'm not even going to repeat what he said, 'cause I kiss my mother with this mouth."

Rory furrowed her brow.

"I was under the impression that you didn't talk to your parents," she said confused, remembering how Jess a couple of days earlier had told her about Cammie and how she and her parents had had a falling out over Cammie's sexuality.

"Figure of speech, you know. Sounds better than 'I kiss the first good-looking, reasonably sober girl I see when I'm out partying with this mouth'."

"You really do that?"

"Why do you think I'd step into a bar for otherwise?" Cammie smiled slyly. "The trick is to find the ones who are just drunk enough. Sober people can be so stiff, and drunks I'm not even going to talk about."

"Bad experience?" Rory asked, finding the idea of Cammie walking around kissing people increasingly funny.

"I had to bury a pair of perfectly worn in Converses because the vomit on them wouldn't go away, and it looked and smelled like something biohazardous."

"Yeesh…" Rory made a face, recalling with vigorous clarity how she'd felt after she'd had too much of Patty's Founder's Day punch (she was pretty confident any tar on her soul had been washed away that time).

"Took the words right outta my mouth, girl. Anyhow, I told Jess to go back to town to his uncle's place and chill out."

"And he actually did that?" Rory was surprised. Sure, Jess was a reformed man, but when he got angry it was like rewinding back to when he was seventeen and angry at the world in general.

"I told him that if he didn't go immediately, foul things would happen to him. I may also have implied that anything he'd feel like doing, no doubt exploding a bit more, would result in something he'd definitely regret. It was like turning on the lights. He gruffed at me and toddled off."

They both fell silent again, watching as the ducks floated around in the water. In Rory's eyes, their lives seemed a whole lot easier than her own, even if being a duck would involve getting drowned by your family.

"What do I do?" she then asked, feeling she couldn't escape the inevitable question.

"You go back," Cammie replied simply.

"You don't understand Stars Hollow. This," Rory pointed to her engagement ring, which she still wore on the wrong finger with the stones facing the inside of her palm. "…is everybody's business now, and it's my fault. I wanted to have a nice, long engagement with a nice little wedding sometime in the future. Not some whacky town shindig shoved upon me with Patty giving me five failed marriages worth of advice and grandma hiring miss Celine, because if the town can pull a crazy stunt for my wedding, then she is entitled to at least one small thing, because after all, me and mom are her family even though we chose to go to our neighbor's cat's wake instead of a distant cousin's funeral."

"Rory. First of all, stop giving me the 'you don't know Stars Hollow'-crap. I managed to make a decent life for myself in Philly, and I'll be damned if I'll let this town stop me from doing the same here. Second, this is your life. Stop acting like you have to live it like others want you to. No one can take your wedding away from you. And third, if you have five failed marriages behind you, you shouldn't hand out advice."

Rory wanted so desperately to tell Cammie she was wrong, that there was so much more to the issue, so many finer details that she as an outsider couldn't even begin to comprehend about Stars Hollow, but she found herself incapable of forming the words.

"What was it like? Splitting from your parents?" she asked instead, glancing over at Cammie.

"It wasn't the most pleasant thing I've ever done," Cammie replied, not contesting the change of subject. "They just couldn't tolerate that their baby daughter, the most promising debutanté of her year, was so intent on destroying everything they had built for me and my brother."

Rory tried to picture Cammie as a debutanté, but there was just something about the colorful girl beside her that didn't fit into the debutanté-mold. "Then again," Rory thought. "Neither did I…"

"I was 15 when I realized I would only ever play for the girls only-team," Cammie continued, twirling a lock of hot pink hair around her right index finger. "I planned on waiting 'til I was 18 to move, and get away from Pittsburgh high society. Mom and dad knew pretty early on that I was… well, they called me defective. And they never let me forget about what a disappointment I was. I think they were somehow banking on guilting me back into heterosexuality. On my 17th birthday I decided I couldn't wait another year to get out, I wanted no one to ever put me down like my parents did, so I went to talk about them about getting legally emancipated. I figured that since they didn't like me for what I was, and I wasn't all sunshine and rainbows about living in a household that despised me, it would be a win-win situation. All hell broke loose, and I got to hear things that no teenager should ever have to hear from her own parents."

"So you left?" Rory inquired, finding it impossible not to see the parallell between Cammie's life and her mother's.

"I did. I got a lawyer, filed for emancipation, transferred money from my family-account to a new, private one before my mom and dad could freeze it, and yes, I wouldn't put a stunt like that past them. I even changed my name."

"What? Cammie's not your real name?"

"I've still got my old last name, but I tweaked my first name. Cammie was what my friends in Pittsburgh used to call me. It had way more happy memories attached to it than Camilla. Anyhow, I took my money and my new liberated self and moved to Philly. Haven't talked to my parents ever since," Cammie concluded and let out a gust of air.

There was a sense of pride in her voice, but Rory also picked up on a sort of sadness hidden underneath. Still, she was in awe of the balls it must've taken Cammie to cut all bonds to her family, much like Lorelai had done. Not even Rory herself had been able to do that.

"You remind me of my mom," Rory said, smiling. "She fled the Hartford high society when she was 16 and got pregnant with me."

"Jess told me there was something slightly unconventional about your family," Cammie noted.

"Mom and grandma still can't hang out like any other mother and daughter. Grandma is disappointed, because in her eyes mom threw away all her potential, and mom thinks grandma is stuck in a dream, and refuses to see that what happened turned out to be the best for everyone involved. My dad has disappointed me and mom more times than we can count, and then I sort of grew up to become the great big hope for the Gilmore name."

Rory gave a humourless laugh.

"You know, I was valedictorian when I graduated high school, or well, Chilton prep. I remember I talked about my role models in my speech, how the person I most wanted to be like was my mom, because she is so strong and independent. Some inspiration I drew from that… First I steal a yacht and then I do to her what she did to grandma and grandpa, and run out on her and our dream, and then I can't even shake off my old self and evolve," she said bitterly. "I still care too much about what others think of me, and I can't even remember when I last told someone to just can it."

"Rory," Cammie said, moving closer to her. "Being strong and independent doesn't mean you have to be like me or your mom and run away from things. You see how that can turn out."

"Pretty good, I'd say. Mom's happy, she's got the inn and Luke and Sookie and me. She's got the townspeople… And you're happy, right?"

"The only thing I've done, and I'm pretty sure it's the only thing your mom's done too, is to run away from the problem. I don't talk to my family, at all. I haven't seen or talked to any of them in five or six years. I'm not sure I would recognize my brother if he passed me on the street. I can't even say I envy your relationship with your mom, though I'd like to, because I've been on my own for so long I've almost forgotten what it's like to be in a parent-kid-relationship. That doesn't sound very happy now, does it?"

"Oh…Yeah, now that you put it that way…" Rory mumbled, looking down.

She knew, of course just how chilly things could be between Lorelai and Emily, but she couldn't imagine what it would be like to be in Cammie's situation. God, where would she be today if she had completely cut her bonds with her mom the time she stole that yacht and took a sabbatical from Yale? Not in a happy place at least, she decided, chewing on her lip. She scrunched up her face at the thought of more functions, proper clothing, drinking the nights away with Logan and his friends, and ugh! She'd probably be Mrs. Logan Huntzberger by now if she hadn't gotten out of that illusion.

"Bad memories?" Cammie asked as Rory went through her 'what if'-scenarios.

"Not bad memories, not really anyway. More like bad choices. Bad, bad choices."

"'Stealing a yacht'-bad?"

Rory laughed and nodded. Stealing a yacht… There was a story for any future grandkids. If there would ever be grandkids. That sort of requiered kids to begin with and kids required… well, everyone knew what kids, or rather their existence, required. The road not taken yet. Technically, she'd gone down a road like that, waved goodbye to her "giftship". Now Rory just wished she could have taken another road that led to that same destination.

"Look," Cammie said, interrupting Rory's metaphorical road-thinking. "I'm not pretending to be some relationship-expert, given the lack of relationships in my life in general, but you and Jess need to stop beating around the bush. You also need to realize your mom is your mom and her job is to occasionally do things that you find stupid. Capisce?"

"So what should I do?" Rory asked, her mind still in the 'the road not taken'-gutter.

"Forgive your mom. Tell her to keep the nutheads that live here on a short leash. Make up with Mariano." Cammie wiggled her eyebrows.

Rory snorted.

"God, you need a life," she scolded Cammie playfully, but a plan was already forming in her head.

"Why? I could be living vicariously through you!"

Rory got up from the bridge and began walking back towards the town.

"Hey, where are you going?" Cammie called after her.

"To fix things!" Rory called back over her shoulder. "Could you maybe live vicariously through someone else for today?"

She could hear Cammie croon "Aah…" to herself, then call "I'll go bug Taylor if it will make you happy!"

Rory smiled to herself. Seeing Cammie annoy the hell out of Taylor might just be a show too good to miss. On the other hand, what she had planned was too good for her to miss, too. She fished out her cellphone from her jeans pocket, calling her mom on speed dial.

"Babe, light of my life, fruit of my loins, the reason I stay sane, I am so, so, so sorry," her mother answered almost immediately.

"Mom, I'm not particularly happy that you pranced around in my embarrassing paper hat, but I get it that in your twisted mind, you needed another hat, and yes, I'd like to know my Texan-cowboy-name, but not now. I need to ask you something."

"Okay, that was easy…" Lorelai muttered. "Go ahead, shoot."

Rory asked her question, and smiled at her mother's answer, thanked her and promised a Casablanca-movienight next time they were in the Hollow. After the call, she steered her steps towards the Crap Shack. No one would be home, but just in case Babbette would be out, she'd have to sneak in, collect some stuff and sneak out undetected. Now that the entire town knew she was engaged, there were no measures of care that were too grand or too weird.

By some freak coincidence, she managed to sneak into the Crap Shack by taking a very confusing route home, which ended with her trampling through the woods from Bootsy's to the Crap Shack, and then to her destination via the same woods, albeit in a different direction. Rory smiled once again, and wrote a text to Jess:

_The tree where you asked the Question, 8 pm. Don't let anyone see you.

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_

**A/N**: What's Rory up to? Guesses welcome, review and let me know what you thought!


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N**: Chapter number 25, whoop-de-doo! Thank you readers for hanging on to this story for this long, and I hope you keep reading it until the very end, which shouldn't be too far away. I've said it before and I'll say it again: These two lovebirds need to get hitched eventually. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characters from Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I am not making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

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_25. __You Know You Love Me_

It was eight o'clock sharp, and Jess had been waiting under the tree by the pond where he'd proposed for a good fifteen minutes. There was no sign of Rory, the area was dark and quiet, and he was starting to get cold. Despite the chilly weather, he couldn't leave. Rory was his everything, and Jess had to admit that her cryptic message from earlier today fascinated him. He couldn't help but wonder what she was up to. _"Probably something only a Gilmore girl could come up with…"_ he mused silently. Just then, soft steps behind him alerted him to the presence of someone else, and he stiffened.

"Hey, you."

Jess sighed and relaxed, it was Rory. He made a move to turn around.

"No!" Rory hastily exclaimed, and he froze. "Don't turn around. You'll spoil the surprise."

"So getting summoned to this place isn't surprising enough?" Jess quipped with a smirk.

Rory didn't answer, but Jess soon felt a piece of soft cloth fall over his eyes.

"A blind fold?" he asked dubiously. "Really?"

"It's more fun this way, I promise," Rory told him reassuringly, and took his hand.

They began walking, and it didn't take long for Jess to completely lose track of where they were. The old Independence inn grounds weren't his turf, so for all he knew, Rory could be leading him anywhere and everywhere.

"So… Cammie found you?" he inquired as they were walking.

"Yeah," Rory replied, and Jess thought he could discern shame in her voice. "Sorry I bailed on you like that."

"I know why you did it." He squeezed her hand gently as a means to reassure her that they were okay. "I'm glad Cammie was there, you know, who knows what could've happened without her."

"The Stars Hollow massacre, an entire town wiped out in hours," Rory joked in a mock-serious tone. "Mind the uneven ground, by the way."

"A blood bath," Jess concurred, as he tried his best not to stumble and fall on the rugged ground.

"They say one of the girls got away, and she's haunting the place," Rory continued in the same voice. Jess decided to play along.

"You don't say? So, what, are we going all _Ghostbusters _tonight? I bet Dr. Venkman and Dr. Stantz are willing to come out of retirement."

"And risk getting owned by the Winchesters? Haven't you heard what they say?"

"Do I even wanna know?"

Jess sighed heavily. It had been a slight mistake to let Rory (and by default Lorelai) introduce him to _Supernatural_, and he suffered the consequences every Thursday.

"'Outer space exists because it's afraid to be on the same planet with the Winchesters'," Rory recited, and Jess had to start coughing loudly to hide his laughter.

"Seriously, Rory. You may have gotten me to maybe agree that Sam and Dean Winchester are way more hardcore than the _Ghostbusters_-dudes, but that nugget did not boost their street cred. And by the way, are we there yet? Wherever 'there' is? We've been walking for hours!"

"Ten minutes, tops," Rory corrected him amusedly. "And we're pretty much there. Can you stand still here without running off or peeking?"

Jess stopped, standing obediently still. He felt Rory let go of his hand, and moments later he heard the unmistakeable sound of a door opening. So, they were going to a house, or an apartment, something that at least had a door, but the location was a mystery. Rory again took hold of his hand, and pulled gently. Jess took a step forward, banging his foot against the doorstep.

"Mind…" Rory began, just as Jess began cursing under his breath. "…your step. Sorry," she apologized sheepishly.

"This better be worth it…" he grunted, trying to ignore the pulsating ache emanating from his foot.

Compared to outside, it was warm in here, which could only lead him to believe that this 'somewhere' had walls and a roof to go along with the door. Through his blind fold he could perceive a soft light.

"Are you ready?" his fiancée asked him, sounding all eager and sprightly.

He grunted in acknowledgement, and Rory pulled the blindfold off of him. He blinked a couple of times before the surroundings became clear. He stood in a little… room. It wasn't a house, certainly not an apartment, but more like one large, multi-purpose room, lit by a small ceiling lamp and a larger lamp in one of the corners. There was a large bed in another corner, a bathtub covered by a flowery shower curtain next to it. Around the room, miscellanious tools and pieces of furniture were littered; two armchairs, a small coffee table, rakes, a garden hose, a digging fork, a ratty old couch and a larger table.

"What is this place?" Jess asked and turned to Rory.

"It's my first home. Mom and I lived here during my first years, it used to be a tool shed, but mom decorated it as best she could. The old handyman, Jackson's cousin Rune, who thought mom looked like a circus freak, used to live here, so I spent the day trying to clean up after him and rearrange the furniture," Rory explained, looking around the little shed.

"You used to live here?"

He ignored the fact that Jackson's strange cousin had lived here, but the fact that Rory, his Rory, had once lived here would be impossible to deny. He had the urge to feel bad for Rory, but when he again looked around the room, imagining Rory and Lorelai here, it was impossible to get anything else but a happy picture in his head. This was not bad, not compared to the saggy mattress and the phony people he'd been crashing with in New York when Luke had burst in and hauled his ass back to Stars Hollow when Liz got married.

"It's nice," he said appreciatively, and Rory lit up with the widest, goofiest smile.

"It means a lot to me, it's part of my life, you know. I thought it would be appropriate…" She trailed off, her gaze falling to the ground.

"Appropriate for what?" Jess asked suspiciously.

Rory didn't say anything, but began unbuttoning her coat slowly, fiddling with the buttons before she slid it off.

She was wearing pajamas, though it was nothing like the cotton pajama bottoms and worn Yale t-shirt she used to wear to bed in Philly. This was a glorified cream-colored minidress, with lace details which made her skin glow in the ambient light. Jess felt like he should look away.

"You look… different," he finally managed to choke out.

"It's an old Christmas present, it's been in my drawer at home forever." She blushed and crossed her arms self-consciously, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"Not that I don't mind the…" He nodded to the pajama-dress, unable to rememeber the correct word for it. "You know… But why are we here?"

She positively attacked him, springing at him like a gazelle. Their lips met, and she kissed him hungrily. Jess responded, almost automatically, his lips eagerly finding Rory's. He wondered how he ever could've kissed trampy Shane just to piss Rory off. This was…

And he found himself comparing kissing scantily clad Rory with kissing skanky Shane, and he couldn't find the difference. There was that same urgency in both kisses, a sort of knowledge that this was not for real. He broke off the kiss, pulling away.

"What?" Rory asked, her face flushing red. "What's wrong?"

"Are you trying to have sex with me?" Jess questioned frankly, eyeing Rory for her response. It always told him the truth, even when she tried not to.

His suspicions were confirmed. She got that expression on her face that she got everytime he called one of her attempts to smooth over rough edges or deny something.

"Yes…" she admitted reluctantly, crossing her arms again and stepping back.

"Why?"

"Why? Why? Maybe because I want to."

"Here?"

"I thought you liked this place!"

"It's great for showing me where you lived, but for sex?" He shook his head. "Are you trying to fix something?"

"What are you talking about?" Rory rebutted defensively. "I thought we were good for once. Is something bad?"

"We need to get married," Jess stated wearily.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he understood he had said something wrong.

"No!" she yelled at him, desperation seeping from her voice. "No! You promised you would wait as long as it took, until the time is right."

"It is right, don't you see?" he pleaded with her, and took hold of her arms.

"It's not!"

"Why?"

"Because…" She struggled to find the words, but just like earlier when she had tried to tell Cammie that she was wrong about thinking that fitting into Stars Hollow would be a cakewalk, she couldn't.

"Every problem would go away, can't you see that?" Jess told her, pushing a stray tress of hair behind her ear. "Your grandma would stop bugging you…"

"Not likely…" Rory snorted under her breath.

"The town would get off our backs, your mom wouldn't have to worry about her brain filter shutting down…" Jess continued, ignoring Rory's remark.

"It's not that easy," she pouted, shaking her head.

"And you thought having sex would make it easier?"

"I wanted… to get close, to make up for bolting out like the black death was coming through the dining room doors."

"Again, I don't have anything against this place, but why here?" Jess asked her, leading her to the bed where they sat down.

Rory hesitated for a second. She had picked this place for a couple of reasons. One, her mom wasn't going to storm in right in the middle of things. Two, Cammie was not likely to bolt in right in the middle of things. Three… She just couldn't have sex with Jess in the same bed where she had been "the other woman" with Dean. And she was not going to tell Jess that.

"I told Cammie she could sleep in my room tonight," she said instead. It wasn't completely bogus. Cammie would probably end up sleeping in her bed anyway.

Jess nodded, and Rory suspected he might have come to the same conclusions as she had about not having sex in her old room. Minus the Dean-factor, which hopefully would remain a secret until she died, and then for some time after that.

"We still need to get married," Jess told her in a hushed tone, hoping she wouldn't get all worked up again.

"When?" she asked, defeatedly.

"I think we should try to set a date. The whole 'leaving it to whenever' was a nice idea in theory, but not so great in practice."

"It would have come to that eventually, I guess."

"Do you have a place in mind?"

"All the good ones are taken."

"The inn?" Jess suggested, happy to see Rory was jumping on the getting married-bandwagon.

"Too much like Sookie's wedding."

"The town?"

"Too much like Dean's wedding," Rory said, and they both cringed.

"The gas pumps at Gypsy's?"

She laughed, and punched him lightly.

"That would be a sight. We'd both end up stinking of gas."

"I like gas! It makes my car run," Jess defended, pulling Rory into a hug. "Tell you what, we close the deal with the bookshop-shindig, and then we set a date. Once we've got a date we'll go for a place. I'm not picky."

"As much as I would love to get married on the bridge, I'm having a hard time seeing how to work out the logistics. Plus, I'd have to worry about people getting pushed in the water," Rory smiled, remembering their Bid-on-the-Basket meal, where he'd told her how Luke had pushed him in.

"You have absolutely no faith in me at all, right?"

"I know that if you would be given a chance to push Taylor into the water, you'd take it," she pointed out.

"Come on, like you wouldn't!"

"Oh, I would, but I would be wearing a ridiculously expensive wedding dress, because that's what I'm seeing grandma insist on, and though you may convince me that pushing someone into water during the wedding is considered a good omen in some parts of the world, I think you'll have a hard time convincing everyone else of that fact."

Jess snickered. Pushing Taylor into a lake… That would be something.

"Fine. Nothing near water, then, if it will make you happy," he relented.

His heart warmed when he saw her smile one of those genuine Rory Gilmore-smiles, and he knew the immediate threath of a full-on shouting fest had been evaded.

"So… Your mom and Luke are where?" he asked after a while.

"At home, I think. Mom's got him watching _Casablanca _again," Rory replied, fingering with the lace on her nightgown.

"And Cammie is at home too?"

"I can see where this is going, Jess. The apartment above the diner. Mom tried that one. Major awkward-moment when she went down the next morning for a cup of coffee in pretty much nothing else but a flannel shirt and the entire town was there. You said you liked this place."

"I said it was nice," Jess corrected her, and before he could blink, Rory had pushed him down on the bed, straddling him with a mischievous grin.

"Your mouth said 'it's nice' but the rest of you said 'I like it'," she teased him.

"Is there a lock on the door?"

"Who else would come up with the idea of crashing in a tool shed?"

"I don't know… You? The handy man who thought your mom was a circus freak? Did he know how right he was about that, by the way?" Jess retorted jokingly, earning him a slap on the shoulder. "Hey, you both drink copious amounts of coffee, it's not healthy or even normal!"

"Lay off with the coffee-remarks, I don't know how it works, but it does. Why did you ask about the lock on the door?"

"Since your house and Luke's apartment is out of the question… Who am I to say no to a perfectly good and moderatly furbished tool shed?"

Rory pumped her fists in the air, clearly seeing this as some sort of personal victory. Jess just loved how incredibly silly and cute she looked while doing it, and smirked.

"I love you, you know that?" she told him and bent down to kiss him after having finished her little victory dance.

"I'm beginning to get that impression," he replied, kissing her in kind.

Not really. He had gotten that impression a long time ago, and he never wanted it to end.

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**A/N**: It's getting close to the end. I'll have to see just how I play this out, but I'm seeing two, three chapters tops before this story is officially complete. Stay tuned and drop some lovely reviews!


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N**: It's been a long time since my last update. I've had my job, school just kicked off and I recently had a mean cold that drained a lot out of me, so I got kinda slowed down. As always, thank you for all the reviews on last chapter, and I hope you enjoy chapter 26!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characthers associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

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_ 26. Calls, calls, calls_

Things got better. They slowly began talking about the future, the wedding, their lives, moderately successful in not making things awkward. They returned to Philadelphia a few days later with Cammie, who was smiling like the Cheshire cat. She had managed to score an apartment over on Peach street. She didn't say how she managed to get by Taylor's screening process, only that she was very convincing, and that she had made the first down payment. Rory and Jess thought that the "sounded convincing"-part sounded like a code for something much more cunning, and in Jess's word "Cammie-like".

Jess spent most of his days pinned down at Truncheon, running interference when Matt's and Chris's plans for the Stars Hollow subsidiary began to reach abnormal proportions. If he was the one who would get to man that place he wanted it to be like Truncheon was: Down-to-earth, but still unique. Opening a subsidiary had apparantly gone to Matt's and Chris's heads, and they spit out one ridiculous suggestion after the other. Fortunately, most of it could be dismissed simply by saying "You do know where you're opening this, right?". Other times, Jess had to resort to much dirtier means of getting the guys' heads out of their butts, such as threatening to sell them to Miss Patty as love slaves. Matt was still scarred from his previous bump-in with Miss Patty that any idea he had going in his head evaporated in favour of self-preservation.

Rory, on the other hand, spent her days in the apartment, planning the move because there was nothing else to do. She hadn't heard anything from any of the papers she had been interviewed by, and a heavy feeling of failure had settled in her stomach. She could sit for hours just thinking about what could've gone wrong. Didn't she present herself well? Had she missed something in Doyle's recommendation that made her look bad? She had already decided that she wouldn't call any of the papers. There would not be a re-run of the humiliation she had experienced when she lost out on the Reston fellowship and tried to call the Providence Journal Bulletin and get that job she had already turned down.

"I hate this," she complained to Jess one Wednesday evening when they were having Chinese and watching a late rerun of _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_. "It feels like I should wake up each morning to moody music and a hollow voice declaring it to be day whatever on the alien planet."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Jess said playfully, nudging her with his chopsticks.

"Not funny, Jess! I'm serious, I'm going nuts here!"

"Fine, I'm taking it back. Have you tried checking for jobs in Hartford?"

Rory sighed, biting off a piece of an eggroll.

"No one seems to be hiring," she replied sullenly, pursing her lips.

"You could call," Jess pointed out.

"Call and say what? 'Hi, I'm Rory Gilmore, I desperately need a job before I go insane and start clawing down the wallpaper in my soon-to-be former apartment'?"

"I mean you could call, get ahead of the game," Jess clarified, ignoring Rory's jibe. "Plus, you're a Gilmore. If those editors know what's good for them, they'll have enough sense to at least respect your family name."

"I'm sorry, who are you, and what have you done with Jess? My Jess would never have suggested I use my stone-rich grandparents to land a job?"

Jess threw up his hands in resignation, smirking widely.

"I'm just saying. Desperate times call for desperate actions. I'm pretty sure your grandparents would be over the moon if you dropped their names, though."

"Please, you're sweet-talking the wrong person. You should be saying all this to grandma, she'd probably start worshipping the ground you walk on," Rory scoffed, poking Jess in the side with her foot."

"But you know I'm right, right? Calling them wouldn't be so bad. You'd be putting yourself out there for the entire Hartford press to see."

"Fine, I can call. But I don't think that a few calls will start a bidding-war, if that's what you're alluding to."

"I could probably help with that, too," Jess quipped and winked.

"You wouldn't!"

"I did create a fake crime scene, did I not?"

"When you were seventeen!"

"Creating a phony bidding war and throwing it in your favor should be a suitable step up for my dark side."

"Whatever you say, Darth Vader..." Rory muttered, though a smile was playing on her lips. Jess throwing a bidding war... It would be so... Jess.

"I go by Darth Agious, just so you know who to send your Thank You-card to when you hit it big."

"Darth Agious? Have you been hiding something from me?"

"Something other than my secret passion for name generators? Not much," Jess shrugged teasingly.

"Nerd alert!" Rory crowed jubilantly. "You are such a nerd!"

"Shut up, or I'm canceling movie night," he threatened, and it was hard to tell if he was serious or not.

"No, you can't do that! Not when there are Oompah Loompah's involved!"

"So can we agree to play nice?"

They looked at each other for a moment, measuring each other and the level of threath and severity involved. Rory caved first.

"Fine," she huffed, returning to eating her eggrolls and Kung Pao chicken and watching the movie. No way she was giving up _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_.

The next day, she really hated Jess for his clarity. She could call. No, she should. She should call and at least introduce herself, get on their radar. Everyone in her position would. So why was she such a chicken, sitting on the couch staring at her phone as if it might explode any second. She took a steadying breath, picked it up, then immediately put it down again. Seconds ticked by. She picked it up again, and speed dialled.

"_I can't answer the phone right now, trust me you don't want to know. Puppies, kittens and other cute baby animals! Here comes the beep, you know what to do!"_ her mothers chirping voice sounded.

Great, voicemail. Rory groaned.

"I can't remember how to be charming and professional!" she exclaimed after the beep. "When did I begin to suck? Where are you? Call me before I forget who I am."

She ended the call, and speed dialled again, this time for Jess.

"Hello," he answered.

"I suck!"

"Hello to you, too. What do you mean you suck?"

"I've been staring at the phone for half an hour, and I can't pick it up and call," Rory complained whiningly.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're calling me right now," Jess commented, mock-sarcastic.

"You know what I mean..."

"Rory, it's just a couple of calls. Be yourself."

"I don't know how to be that," she countered, almost panicking. "I..."

"Okay, I'm gonna interrupt your rant right here. Take a breath, calm down and get over yourself. You don't suck. You know exactly who you are. Nothing has changed, Rory."

"..."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Jess asked, not hearing anything of the mumbles.

"I said, I don't want them to turn me down..." Rory repeated, barely getting the words out.

"You're not calling for a specific job, so they can't really turn you down."

"They'll think I'm a spazz for calling and asking for a job."

"They get lots of calls like that..." Jess began.

"Not helping, Jess!"

"People call for jobs even when there are none, nothing you can do about that. What you can do is present yourself as the best option for them, and from what I know, you are the best option," Jess told her encouragingly.

"You really think so?" Rory asked, feeling a teensy bit better.

"I would say 'would I lie to you', but that line has so much ego-destroying potential I'm not gonna touch it with a stick, so I'll settle for 'of course'."

"You're so full of yourself," she rebutted playfully. "Fine, I'll call them. I promise."

"Go get 'em, Gilmore."

They said goodbye, and Rory sat looking at her phone for another couple of seconds, before biting down on her lower lip, searching for _The Hartford Courant_'s, _The Hartford Magazine_'s and _The Informer_'s phone numbers. She decided to start with the obvious, The Hartford Courant, and she could feel her fingers tremble as she dialled the number.

"_The Hartford Courant_, Jimmy speaking," a brisk voice answered after two rings.

"Hi... Hello. I'm Rory Gilmore, and I'm calling to see if you would happen to have any positions opening soon..." she began, somewhat shakily.

"One moment, I'll connect you. Have a nice day."

Before Rory could even say thank you, Jimmy had connected her, and mellow music began playing in her ear. She took a steadying breath, closing her eyes.

"I can do this..." she assured herself.

"_The Hartford Courant_, Jenny speaking. How may I help you?"

Showtime.

"Hello, my name is Rory Gilmore..."

It got easier the more she talked. Then again, it wasn't such a huge surprise. She was, after all, Lorelai Gilmore's daughter, and by definition heir apparant to the throne of Indefinite Babbling Capabilities. She presented herself, quickly reciting her work experience, her strong points, the commitment she felt towards writing. She even threw in a vague hint about her grandparents. Anyone who had even the slightest insight in Hartford high society would make the connection. Rory just hoped Jenny was that anyone.

She got the answer she expected, that they weren't hiring at the moment, but she was more than welcome to send them her resumé and some workprints and they'd keep her in mind if they had any positions opening up. With one down, it was easier to call the two other papers. _The Hartford Magazine_ was very eager to get her information, her CV and some workprints, while _The Informer_ gave her the perfunctory "We're not looking, but you can send us your resumé"-reply.

Not ten minutes after she had finished talking to Howie at The Informer, her phone began buzzing. She checked the caller-ID.

"Mom!" she answered enthusiastically.

"Oh, okay, someone's happy to hear my voice. So why did I have a very desperate message from you when I checked my voice mail? You sounded like Billy Jack was coming for you."

"I called a couple of papers in Hartford today, checking to see if they had any jobs available."

"That's great, sweetie."

"Wish I could take credit, but it was Jess's idea."

"Duly noted. And somewhere between there and now you forgot who you were..?"

Rory laughed a short laugh.

"I freaked out. I haven't had to call and ask for a job in a long time. The last time I did that I felt so embarrased I wanted to die. Now I had to do it again, and I had no idea what to say or not say, or if I should call at all," she explained, rubbing her forehead. "So where were you? You always answer when someone calls."

"Honey, in case you forgot, I have a living... thing growing inside me. As much as I would like to avoid it, I need to go to the baby doctor to do an ultrasound and check that everything's fine," Lorelai reminded her.

"And how was my little sibling?"

"It was fine, and I even promised the obstetrician to cut down on coffee."

"Did she believe you?"

"I was very convincing. And I had my fingers crossed behind my back. I'm putting you in charge of smuggling me coffee, real coffee, by the way. Luke will be anal about the coffee. He things the baby will come out looking like Cousin It if I drink coffee," Lorelai joked.

"I might like having Cousin It for a brother... or sister. Do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?"

"And ruin the town's pool? Have I taught you nothing?"

"But if you knew, you could bet accordingly," Rory countered, twirling a lock of hair.

"Yeah, and everyone would know I knew, and I would get nothing. Trust me, I'm better off not knowing. Maybe I can get somebody to place a bet on my behalf, but no one would know it besides me?"

"God, you're beginning to sound like Jess..."

"I take that..." Lorelai began, then halted for a moment. "Wait, how am I supposed to take that?"

"In whatever way that makes you happy, mom," Rory answered with a smile, then heard a beeping sound from her phone. Someone was trying to call her. "Look, I gotta go, someone's trying to call me. I'll talk to you again soon."

"Fine. When are you guys coming here again?" her mother asked hurriedly.

"I'm not sure. Soon. I'll call you."

"Bye, cupcakes!"

"Bye!"

Rory hung up on her mother, then checked caller-ID for the other call. Unknown number. Great, probably some overly persistent phonesalesman.

"Rory Gilmore speaking," she answered, moderately bored.

"Rory Gilmore? I'm Gerald, I work for Metro Philadelphia. Am I calling at a good time?"

"S-Sure," she stuttered, baffled that Metro was calling her.

"Great. I got your number from the editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer. See, we had a columnist up until last week, when he abandoned ship, so to speak, and, well, news travel. I got your number, your resumé and a copy of a workprint column you've written, and it was pretty impressive for someone who's never written columns before."

"Thank you..."

"If you don't mind, we'd like you to write columns for us," Gerald continued, apparantly not noticing her shellshocked answer. "We can make this a temporary thing to begin with, if you feel unsure about writing columns full-time. What do you say about a bi-monthly column, with a probationary employment period of three months?"

"You're... You're offering me a job?" Rory couldn't be sure, but it felt like her face had gone all numb, and she looked like a tasered goldfish.

"I'd be an idiot if I didn't, you've got experience, you've got excellent referrals, your workprint showed promise. Now, if you don't mind, I have a few changes I'd like to propose."

"What changes?" she asked standoffishly. There were only so much she was prepared to change with her, admittedly, vague outline for the column.

"I've got a note here saying you'd like the column to be called 'My little corner of the world'. No problem with that, it's actually pretty catchy. What I'm thinking is we could make this a bit more... shall we say mysterious? Pretty much the first thing you tell the reader in this text is the name of your home town."

"Stars Hollow," Rory answered automatically.

"Right. You think you can rewrite the beginning to make it more non-descript. Give as few hints as possible as to where your little corner of the world is," Gerald suggested zippily.

"That seems... fair enough."

"I'll leave the writing to you, it's been my experince that the less specifics you give, the better a text like this one turns out."

"Right," she agreed, rather lamely. "You think you could mail me the text? I forgot to ask for a copy of it before I left the Inquirer."

"Sure. Do I send it to the e-mail address on your resumé?"

"Yes. Yes, it's the one I use."

"Great. Would it be okay for you if you brought it in personally? We could get all the paperwork done at the same time."

"That would be acceptable," Rory affirmed, feeling her heart beat harder in ger chest.

"Is tomorrow enough time for you to rewrite it? Can we meet at, say, 2 pm?"

"I'll make it work."

"Fanstastic. I'll see you tomorrow then? You know where to find us?"

"I can google the address, and I'll be there at 2 pm sharp."

"All right. Welcome to Metro, Rory Gilmore."

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**A/N**: Review, pretty please!


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N**: Thank you everyone for your reviews. Wow, I've really not got much to say, which is strange, my A/Ns are usually borderline rambly. Enjoy chapter 27, sorry for the wait!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characthers associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

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_27. Reality is so much more pleasing_

"Very well done, Rory."

Rory blushed, and smiled goofily, as she took in Gerald's praise. She'd stayed up until the wee hours rewriting the column, changing, changing back, changing again, tweaking, biting her nails and hoping it was good enough. For the first time since practically ever, she had been hesitant about pushing the print-button when she was done, and she had lost a good ten minutes just staring at the damn machine, her finger weighing on the left mousebutton.

"I'm glad you liked it," she replied shyly. "I wasn't sure if the changes I made were, well, vague enough for what you had in mind."

"Are you kidding me? This is great! It's vague without being too vague, it's crazy without being over the top. Really, you couldn't have given me a better revision. And everything you've mentioned is true?"

"Oh yes. From the movie night candy-pool to the bid on the basket to the knitathons. And that's just the beginning."

"I can see we are in for a wild ride," Gerald noted, putting down the paper on his desk. "So, shall we move on to the big stuff then? Signing papers and all that?"

"Sure!" Rory enthused, feeling jittery at this pivotal moment of her day, hell, her life.

Gerald pulled out a desk drawer, speaking as he pulled out one paper after the other.

"So, you would be employed by us, but free to freelance if you should want to. However, we have reserved this specific column for _Metro_, so you can't publish that in another paper. As I mentioned yesterday, this could start out as a bi-monthly column, with a probation period of three months. It sound little, I know, but with these things, all it takes is one, maybe two columns to see if it's going to work out. And don't worry, you'll still have your job after three months regardless of how the column takes off."

"What about my working hours?"

"It's really up to yourself, so long as we have the final product by the deadline. You don't necessarily have to come in and leave a physical copy, you can upload it onto our server and we'll take it from there. It would be fun to see you every once in a while though."

"Good, that's good. I mean, about my flexible work schedule," Rory said, feeling a bit lighter inside. The work hours had been her main concern as she had taken the bus to _Metro_'s office.

"Normally I'd try with kids and family, but you seem far to young for that..." Gerald said with a smirk.

"No, it's not kids. More family, maybe. My... fiancé and I are actually moving back to Stars Hollow, he's opening a bookshop subsidiary there, and apart from him needing me to run interference, the thought of moving home is actually pretty tempting. After spending almost a year on the road for the Presidential campaign, it feels good to set down roots, sort of."

"I see. Well, it's fine by us. Just hand in your stuff on time and show up occasionally, okay?"

"That won't be a problem," she promised.

"So when's the big move?" Gerald asked, signing the papers rapidly.

"Oh, um... as soon as the details are all hashed out. My fiancé and his business partners have quite different views on how the bookshop should be run."

"What bookshop is it, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Truncheon, down on Locust."

"Oh yeah, those guys! We did a feature when they opened shop. So they've branched out? What other places have they got?"

"Actually, the one in Stars Hollow is their first. Don't ask me why, it sort of happened by mistake. We lost track of Chris and Matt in Stars Hollow and during the short time it took us to find them, they managed to strike a deal with the current bookstore owner in Stars Hollow. I think the general idea is for this to be sort of a literary grassroots movement. It's a little different from Truncheon, sort of like a haven for people who want to read a little underground literature, enjoy the ambience and relax. I think it's pretty exciting."

"I might just have to swing by sometime to see it for myself," Gerald commented, then handed her a neat stack of papers. "Okay, then. Your turn. Sign there, there, there and there." He pointed to a dotted line next to his signature on every page and handed her a pen.

Rory could feel her hands shaking as she took the pen. This was it, she was moving onto a new stage in her life. She had been employed before, but living in a bus or out of drafty motel rooms had not had the proper feeling of being employed. This was different, this was for real. She breathed in, pressed the pen against the paper and signed herself off to her new future.

"Okay, great. You're now officially part of the _Metro_ staff," Gerald congratulated her, shaking her hand. "Your first column will go to print tomorrow, so it will be in the paper the day after tomorrow. Swing by Pamela at the help desk to get your username and password, and she'll show you how to use our intranet to upload to our server. We have a copy of your column, so you don't need to upload one today. The deadline for your column is always 12 am the day before it's in the papers, which in your case is Wednesdays at 12 am. Any questions?"

"Not that I can think of," Rory told him smiling widely.

They shook hands once again, and Rory made her way to the helpdesk. Pamela turned out to be a 28-year-old computer tech originally from West Virginia if you believed her shirt, who looked like a living, breathing computer nerd archetype. She absentmindedly fixed a username and a password for Rory, showed her the basics of the intranet and handed out a card with the helpdesk's telephone number and e-mail on it. It didn't matter that this woman didn't seem to care one bit. Rory was floating on little clouds as she practically skipped out of Metro's office. She was barely out the door and out on the street when she'd speed dialled Lorelai.

"If you're calling to rub my face in the fact that I'm getting fatter every stinking day, you can just hang up," Lorelai answered grumpily. "Michel's already giving me hell here, but not enough to make me consider a homicide."

"You're not fat, mom," Rory offered, holding back a 'not yet, anyway'.

"You always know how to make me happy. So what's up?"

"I'm officially employed!" she gushed.

"What? When did this happen?" Lorelai wondered, now sounding considerably more happy.

"Yesterday. And today."

"Okay, I need more here, unless you've found some glitch in the space-time continuum that I don't know about."

"_Metro_'s editor called me yesterday and said he'd been handed the column I wrote as a work print for the _Inquirer_. _Metro_'s columnist had apparantly quit very suddenly, so Gerald, the editor, called me and asked if I wanted to start writing columns for them."

"Babe, that is so great!"

"I know," Rory continued, feeling how the happiness bubbled inside of her. "I just left _Metro_'s office, I've signed all the papers and gotten my username and password from the geekiest girl in Philadelphia, and my column will be in print the day after tomorrow."

"Send me a copy," Lorelai told her assertively. "No, send me ten, or maybe twenty, so I can pass them out around town and brag about you."

"Well, considering I'm writing about the town, I can think of a few, who wouldn't like it," Rory hedged, biting her lip.

"Taylor? Don't worry, I'll spread the word. No need to get his panties in more of a bunch than they already are. Not that I would know what kind of bunch they are in, because if I did, I would have to gouge my eyes out and pour bleach into my head," Lorelai rambled, and Rory scrunched up her nose. There would never be a conversation where Taylor's pants would be involved and it wouldn't be nauseating.

"I'll send you five copies," Rory instead promised. "One for you, one for grandma and grandpa, one for Sookie, one for Michel, even though he might not read it, and one for Babbette so she and Patty can spread the word. There, I've ensured town gossip for the coming month with only five copies."

"Do I have to be the one giving the glorious paper to your grandma and grandpa?" her mother whined.

"Mom, you're a big girl. They will not bite you."

"Are you completely sure, 'cause I've seen the way grandma looks at me when I give the peas voices."

"Mom, I promise, it's just this one time. We'll move back soon, and I can start running interference for you and grandma again."

"Something tells me this will end up in one of your columns..." Lorelai grumbled. "Though that would certainly be a nice change if Emily Gilmore would bark at someone else but me for talking about her in a less than flattering tone."

"I will not be mean to grandma!"

"Well, you're mean to me! And you're baby sibling It."

"Tell It not to put its nose where it doesn't belong yet."

"Please, like It would know its nose from its butt..."

"I'm going to hang up now, before we're back to talking about Taylor's pants and what horrible, horrible things that might come after that."

"You know you love me," Lorelai teased, using her best _Gossip Girl_-voice.

"XOXO. Bye mom."

They hung up, and Rory continued on her way home, taking the bus to the 69th Street Terminal and continued homeward on foot. She was one block away when she decided to swing by Truncheon to give Jess the good news. She turned left on Chestnut Street onto South 41st Street, and soon saw the Truncheon facade. The bell above the door jingled when she entered.

"Hi Chris," she greeted chipperly as the door closed behind her.

Chris looked up, gave her a wave and a smile.

"Your boy's downstairs. I think he's having a little meltdown or something."

"More trouble with Cammie?"

"And Matt. It's not Jess's day today. Cammie left on her own accord, but I had to send Matt upstairs. God knows how we'll manage without Mariano here when you two leave..." Chris shook his head.

Rory smirked, and quickly descended the stairs down to the basement. She found Jess in one of the corners, banging his head against a wall, grinding his teeth.

"What's the problem?" she asked calmly.

"They're idiots, that's what's the problem," Jess replied surlily.

"Elaborate."

"They freaking tag teamed on me just to torture me! Cammie wants this, Matt wants that, they harass me to get both, and I want none. Cammie thinks this, Matt agrees, and I could not care less."

"Well, you must care, otherwise it wouldn't bother you," she pointed out sensibly.

Jess grumbled something unintelligible, and stopped banging his head.

"I don't want it to turn into the fancy god damned water hole they're planning it as. I want it to be what it is, nothing more," he said after a while, sounding tired.

Rory stepped up to him, and hugged him, leaning her head against his back.

"Have you tried telling them?"

He snorted.

"As if I'd get a say in things..."

"Hey, you're going to run that place, you should have everything to say about it!"

"I guess..."

"Okay, now, tell me what they want and we'll see if it's impossible to steer them away from the apparant insanity."

"Cammie wants plush, candles and red interior. Matt wants red, leather and lights."

"And you want?"

"Anything that will annoy the hell out of Matt?" Jess suggested jokingly.

"Jess... seriously," Rory reproved, though she was glad to hear he was getting out the immediate funk.

"I want... odd chairs. Not a posse of plush or leather arms chairs and couches. I'm not totally opposed to the candles, but something tells me Taylor will bust us for burning candles on a weekday or something like that...I don't want to change the place too much. I liked it as it was. It just... needs a touch of Truncheon."

"And Cammie."

"Yeah, that too, I suppose."

"So, tell them that," Rory told him encouragingly. "Odd chairs sounds interesting. And they can get one plush and leather chair each, and everyone will be happy. Candles are nice, and I'll personally start a boycott against Doose's if Taylor tries to shut you down. And I agree with you, don't change the place too much."

"I love it when you sound so peppy." Jess turned around and gave her a soft kiss.

"I'll start making my pom-poms tonight," she promised challengingly.

"Fine," he sighed and inclined his head. "I'll go all bossy on them later. So to what do I owe the honor of your pleasant company?"

"Why, thank you for asking, sir. I just came by to say I've landed myself a job."

Rory felt like she was about to explode. She'd never get tired of saying that she was employed, it was such a sweet feeling to bask in. Jess took hold of her, lifted her up and spun her across the room.

"Congratulations, Rory. I knew you'd charm the pants off some editor sooner or later."

"We can finally move. I'm employed, you're going to straighten things out with Cammie and Matt and then we can actually pack up and move..." She was about to say 'home', but she held it back. Living in the upstairs apartment from Luke's would be a home, but not the home.

"Leave one nuthouse for another," Jess filled in with a wry smile.

"Oh, come on, you'll enjoy harassing Taylor. Admit it."

Jess didn't answer, just gave her his trademark Jess Mariano up-to-no-good smirk. She kissed him again, and thought about the future. This felt right, returning to their roots. The dream of working in New York or abroad had always been just that, a dream. In reality, Rory suspected the lifestyle of an overseas correspondent would have clashed with her personality. She could still be Christiane Amanpour, just not in a foxhole in some country at war. Philly was a big enough city, Metro just the kind of paper she needed to start out with, and Stars Hollow had always been her home base, wherever she'd been in her life. Dreams were nice, but when reality clicked, it was much more satisfying.

"So, when will they print you?" Jess asked after they broke off the kiss.

"Day after tomorrow. I've promised to send five copies to mom," she replied, taking his hand, and began dragging him up the stairs.

"Only five? Wow, I expected more from your mom."

"Oh, trust me, she wanted twenty, but I negotiated it down to five."

"At least one of those copies have to go to either Babbette or Miss Patty, otherwise there would be no point in trying to spread the word with five copies," Jess commented, putting up a mild fight. He didn't feel like confronting those pig headed associates of his just yet.

"You know me so well."

Jess came to a full stop in the middle of the staircase, pulling Rory to him. They locked gazes, as he whispered to her:

"I've known you since the first time I saw you."

He softly kissed her on the forehead and the on the mouth, after which he obediently followed her out of the basement and up the stairs to the apartment above Truncheon to talk to Matt.

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**A/N**: Review, pretty please! This fic is running on its last few chapters. I can promise you as much that it won't go over 30 chapters. It has run its course and I promise to give it a good, dignified ending.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N**: I'm ashamed over how long it has taken me to update. It's been one long and yet very short fall. My Master's have been haunting me, there have been personal issues popping up at the most inconvenient times, and my fics have been sorely ignored, which I should punish myself for. Oh, wait... Already done that, I've gone almost 80 days without chocolate. If that isn't punishment, then I don't know what is. Anyhow, I wish you all a Merry Christmas. This is my gift to you, because you all rock so incredibly much. Enjoy chapter 28!

**Disclaimer**: I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characthers associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

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_28. Shit hitting proverbial fans and inexhaustible Get out of Jail Free cards_

"Let me see it! Come on, let me, let me, let me!"

Lorelai was bouncing up and down on her chair, her hands snatching at the copy of _Metro_ in her daughter's hands.

"Stop acting like you're on uppers, little It might get brain damage if you keep it up like that," Rory retorted playfully, keeping the paper well away from her mother's greedy hands.

They were in Stars Hollow for the weekend to sign for a shipment of furniture for the new place, which still didn't have a name. Jess had managed, after a long discussion that included profanities, threats, pleas and non-stop white knuckles, to reach a compromise with Cammie and Matt about what the place would look like. Cammie would get her candles, Matt would get one leather arm chair and Jess would get the assorted odd couches, chairs and book cases. Cammie and Matt also got one red wall, which had been fixed last weekend, and by some miracle, Taylor had not yet reared his ugly head with a bunch of phony paragraphs in tow.

The first shipment of books would arrive next week, and Cammie, who'd already moved to Stars Hollow, would be there to sign for it. Rory would stay, and temporarily move into her old room until Jess wrapped everything up in Philly, after which they would move into the apartment above Luke's until they could find something better. Not that Jess expected it to be easy to find something better after Taylor got wind of the fact that not only had Jess opened a business in Stars Hollow, he was looking to move there, for a longer period of time.

At the moment, Jess and Cammie were out on town, while Rory sat at home, sipping coffee and teasing Lorelai with the _Metro_-issue that contained her first column. She already had her next one written, and just waited for the deadline to come around so she could send it in.

"Hand it over already, or I will bounce, ferociously," Lorelai threatened, trying to look dead-serious.

"Go ahead," Rory replied teasingly. "You bounce and I will tell on you."

Threatening with telling Luke was an effective measure of getting Lorelai to stop acting like a four-year-old. She'd rather yield in a standstill than have Luke lecture her on the multiple dangers she put the baby in by just getting out of bed.

"You are so playing dirty, missy. Why can't I see it? You've already sent a copy to grandma and grandpa, and I know this because she called a boasted about how incredible it was and then gloated because I hadn't read it yet."

Rory sighed theatrically.

"You are so high maintenance. Were you like this when you had me?"

She threw the paper over to her mother, who happily snatched it and began browsing it for the column.

"Sweetie, I drove myself to the emergency room, what do you think?" Lorelai replied. "What page are you on?"

"Page five, upper right corner."

Lorelai frantically flipped the pages and searched the page until her eyes zoomed in on the spot where Rory knew her column was. She smiled as she saw her mother pull all kinds of faces, mostly happy ones, at what she had written. Rory could guess which things that made her smile. Some of their finest moments had made their way into that column.

"Aaw, sweets, that was so good!" Lorelai finally gave her verdict, putting down the paper.

"Really?" Although Gerald had praised the column, her mother's praise was worth so much more. "It wasn't... too much? Not much enough?"

"It was great, kid, you've really found your place in the world of the employed with this."

"I wouldn't say I've definitely found my place in the world, but this is a good start, at least," Rory admitted, smiling. "If only Jess and Cammie get the place up and running, it could even become a place I'd be reluctant to leave."

At that moment, Jess came storming in through the door, cursing unintelligibly under his breath. He walked past them without even looking at them, stepped into Rory's room and slammed the door shut with a bang that made the windows rattle. Mother and daughter looked at each other, and Rory sighed.

"It's nice to dream, at least," she said, and shrugged her shoulders as she got up from the table.

"Always," Lorelai replied, glancing longingly over at the coffee maker.

Rory opened the door, and stepped in, closing it behind her. At first she didn't see Jess, but then she saw him, leaning up against her wardrobe. He had his eyes shut tight, breathing evenly through his nose, a sure sign he was trying to calm himself down.

"Something wrong?" she asked calmly, and sat down on the bed.

"Wrong?" he said, a tone of subdued rage in his voice. "Shit has hit the proverbial fan more like it."

"Cammie being Cammie again?"

"Oh, trust me, that would be freaking peachy right now. I said, shit has hit the fan."

"Oh..." It dawned on her. "Taylor. But you have all the papers in order, everything is signed and whatnot."

"He was quoting phony bylaws at me, and said that he would never approve any of our applications even if it was the last thing he did."

"He's just mean, Jess. And he can't hold back your applications if they're in order."

"I told him that!" Jess exclaimed exasperated, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor.

Rory cocked her eyebrow. Taylor was a sore point, and with Jess this aggravated, Rory doubted he had only told Taylor that he was acting wrong.

"Fine," Jess admitted. "I may have told him that not approving our application might be the last thing he'd ever do."

"Nice, Jess. Death threats always work great with Taylor," Rory quipped sardonically.

"He started it!"

"And you basically told him you'd kill them."

"Like I meant it!"

"Jess, you were talking to Taylor. He's the only person in Stars Hollow that would take a death threat from you seriously. I'm sure he's already informed the Stars Hollow police force."

"What, all three of them?"

Rory looked at him pointedly.

"Why couldn't Jackson have kept on being town selectman? It would have been so much easier," Jess muttered sourly.

"No, it wouldn't," Rory protested, and came over to him. "Taylor would still be chairman of basically every town-related association, so he'd still be there to give you hell."

"That's not so comforting, Rory."

"All I'm saying is that Taylor is an inevitability. And he can't refuse you, you've got the paperwork to prove you're legit. Come on, where's my 'I'm gonna get Taylor with paperwork'-Jess?"

"Packed away in a box," Jess deadpanned and looked up at her.

"Don't be sad. You can nail him on the next town meeting. Think about it, you come in with paperwork and everything. Mom will bring fries and throw them at people because Luke won't let her eat them, and Cammie will be there, and she will talk over Taylor's head, and everyone will be on our side," Rory coaxed, reaching out a hand to pull Jess off of the floor.

"You think?"

"If that is a bust, I promise I'll play my Town Princess-card."

"You already did that."

"Jess. The Town Princess-card is like an inexhaustible Get out of Jail Free card. Taylor wouldn't dare."

"You think you could shove it in his face now? I'd hate to wait to the next town meeting," Jess grumbled.

"He's still there?"

"Unless Cammie has scared him away, then probably."

Without another word, Rory rose, and she was already half-way to the front door before Jess realized that she was on her way to the bookstore. He couldn't help but admire her willingness to really kick Taylor's ass, although thinking about it, the entire town (save perhaps for Kirk...) would be willing to help if the task was to kick Taylor's ass. Jess got up from the floor and jogged after Rory, catching up with her when she turned onto the street from the Gilmore driveway.

"I thought Gilmores didn't run," he commented when he caught up with her. For being a person who rarely ran, Rory could move surprisingly fast.

"I know, but we walk as fast as we talk," Rory smiled teasingly. "And now I made a totally lame rhyme, which I know you will hold against me until the day I kill you for it."

"You know me so well..."

They walked the short distance from the Crap Shack to the town square. Jess looked over towards the bookstore. No Taylor in sight, maybe he had left. Cammie was nowhere in sight, which Jess couldn't determine if it was positive or negative. However, when they came closer to the store, they could hear voices from inside, and the voices were unmistakeable. Cammie and Taylor were having an argument.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Jess murmured, and prepared himself mentally for having to pull Cammie away from Taylor before Taylor could banish Cammie. Cammie kicking Taylor's ass would any other day be fun to watch, because Jess was sure Cammie could take Taylor in a fight, but if Cammie got banished there would be no end to the amount of crap that would hit the Jess-fan.

"Calm down, Darth Agious. You created a phony crime scene and had every intention of creating a phony bidding war. This should be a cakewalk," Rory told him, holding back a snicker when she used Jess's Star Wars-name.

"You do know who's in there, don't you? My arch nemesis and my loopy, forced-upon-me sidekick. In the movies, this always turn into a disaster."

"Really? What movies?"

"Plenty!" Jess said weakly, when he couldn't come up with any good example. "Trust me."

"You are such a sissy, and I'm gonna hold that against you until the day we die."

"Oh, so when I have something to hold against you, you will kill me to end the suffering, but when you have something to hold against me, you will torment me untill the day we die?"

"It's fair isn't it?" She winked diabolically at him as they entered the bookstore.

The scene that met them was not really was Jess had imagined. The interior was still intact, Taylor was still intact. Sure, him and Cammie were arguing quite loudly, but it didn't seem to contain too much animosity. Cammie was waving a bunch of papers in front of Taylor, pointing at various paragraphs, and Taylor countered emphatically, but Cammie just flipped to another paper. They turned around when Jess cleared his throat.

"Oh, hi!" Cammie said happily. Taylor didn't even nod hello.

"What's going on here?" Jess asked darkly, looking from Cammie to Taylor.

"Oh, Mr. Doose here is trying to shut us down, and I'm just telling him that he has no grounds whatsoever to do that."

"Young lady, I have been town selectman in this town for many years, I'm telling you, your enterprise is not in line with Stars Hollow regulations, and I know my regulations!" Taylor protested wildly, looking at Cammie.

"Yeah, so do I. What do you think I've been doing while those two have been in Philly?" Cammie said, her voice full of authority. "You say you will deny our application to open up the store once it's up for discussion with the town council. You can deny all you want, but you have no legal ground to do so, as all the papers are in order, all forms have been turned in, all permits have been copied, signed and submitted along with our application. If you deny us, we will take this to the town meeting, and as you will be part of the dispute, you will have to recuse yourself as chairman, and no matter how hard you try, Mr. Doose, you will lose. You might as well give up now and stop trying to sabotage us."

Taylor looked like someone had punched him in the face. Cammie had beat him, it was clear as day. No amount of fake rules and bylaws could mend this, as Taylor wouldn't have time to make them official in time for an eventual town meeting where he would have to recuse himself in order to defend his case against Cammie and Jess. Jess suddenly liked Cammie a hundred times more than he had done this morning. The girl was resourceful.

Taylor gave a loud and indignant "hmpf!" before he stormed out of the store, and Cammie stood smiling widely, looking like a pink Cheshire Cat.

"Okay, am I awesome or what?" she said laughinly, raising her hand for a high five.

Jess didn't say anything, he just walked up to Cammie, gave her a hug and then proceeded out into the back room. Cammie looked at Rory quizzically.

"Oh, I'd say he's doing some sort of embarrassing happy dance," Rory guessed. "And yes, you are so awesome. I didn't even have to use my Town Princess Eternal Get Out of Jail Free-card."

"Your Town-what?"

"Nothing. I can explain it some other time."

"So, now that our business is saved from the evil bylaw-monster, what do we do?" Cammie asked.

"Smuggle coffee for my mom?" Rory suggested, cocking her eyebrow.

"Luke will throw a fit if he finds out, he's been ranting over the phone with Lorelai all week."

"We'll have to be sneaky."

"Should I wear a disguise? A fake nose with an even more fake mustache?"

Rory just laughed, and together the two of them walked out, leaving Jess to celebrate in the back room. Rory felt at ease as she and Cammie walked across the square to Luke's. She had a job, Jess and Cammie would soon have their store, and she was back in the town she loved. Soon, everything would be perfect.

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**A/N**: Leave a Christmas-review, pretty please!


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N**: And so it all comes to an end. This is officially this fic's last chapter. Unofficially, I might do an epilogue if I get the proper inspiration, but for now this fic has reached its final destination. I know it's a bit shorter than usual, and for that I hope you be a bit indulging. I am so thankful for all the reviews you guys have been leaving me. You are all gold to me. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer**:I, the author of this story, do not own any of the characthers associated with Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have no intention of making any money on this (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm losing money over it…).

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_29. Raise Your Glass_

There finally was a wedding, one which only had small traces of Emily Gilmore stamped on it. It turned out to be an event that exceeded both Rory's and Jess' expectations. They had been forced to scrap the idea of a small non-town shindig once they realized they couldn't agree on who to invite and who not to invite. Of course, every single person attended, but so far, everyone had been nice about it. Taylor had even managed to look highly convincing when he wished the happy couple good luck.

During the planning stage, Luke had voiced his concern about Lorelai being pregnant, but she had completely ignored him, and patted her by now large stomach, telling little It (who turned out to be a baby boy two months after the wedding) not to arrive early just because there would be cake. Cammie, who was Rory's bridesmaid along with Lane, had dyed her hair honey blonde for the occastion. It was a genuine Cammie-gesture, equivalent to any other person not wearing white on somebody else's wedding. Stars Hollow had taken quite well to Cammie, and although Jess was not happy to admit it, Cammie was the reason their little venture, dubbed _Collectables _(Matt and Chris had very much approved), attracted customers.

Jess and Rory married under the tree where Jess had proposed. The bridge had been an option until logistics made it impossible to arrange. The reception was held at the Crap Shack, where the tent from Rory's going away party had once again been pitched. Smaller tables had been arranged around the high table, which was placed next to a small stage. Sookie had hounded the staff at The Dragonfly, and everyone swore she had outdone herself yet again with the wedding feast.

The guests were still eating cake when Lorelai rose and stepped up on the stage and took the microphone placed on one of the speaker units.

"Rory and Jess... Show of hands, who never thought this constellation would make it this far?" she asked bluntly. A fair few raised their hands, and people gave hearty laughs as both Rory and Jess smirked and each raised a hand. Lorelai chuckled too, and continued. "We've all been proved wrong. The sulky hoodlym who had me fear for my daughter's safety has turned out to be the best thing to cross Rory's path. It's a meeting of minds, a kind of love that is part geeky, part... more. It's more than any of us could ever understand."

She paused to look with watery eyes at the newlyweds: Rory, clad in a kneelong, strapless wedding gown, and Jess, very casual in slacks, a white buttondown shirt and a matching waistcoat. He had first refused to wear a jacket, but Rory had talked him into it and promised he could skipt the tie and hang the jacket on his chair during the reception. Emily had not approved, but kept her comments to herself for Rory's sake.

"We all know of Rory's fondness for lists, but this might be the only occasion for which she has never made a list. Well, unless we count a very embarrassing one from 1998, featuring Zach Hanson, because then we have exactly one list. Maybe the lack of lists has something to do with me, because let's face it, so far I've mostly played the whole 'getting married'-idea by hear. Then again, maybe it's something else. Maybe love and marriage and happiness can't be planned and neatly put down in a few succinct items on a list to check off? And after all, we are in Stars Hollow. It isn't a plan here until it's been changed."

The guests laughed again, some nodded knowingly, and Bootsy even called out "Hear hear!". Rory smiled at her mother, tears beginning to trickle down her cheek.

"You have all been an important part of my daughter's life, in both of their lives, although I suspect the groom might protest. You have all played parts in the column Rory writes. Someone might say she's presented us as nutty eccentrics, but that has never been her intention. She has wanted to show the genuine people who were there for her and Jess in all ways possible. You have all heard of and read that first column, but I think we can all hear it one more time, and really see how much we have mean to Rory and my... son-in-law. I think it's only fitting that the writer herself reads it, don't you think?"

Lorelai shot Rory a smile and pulled out a jagged newspaper clipping. Rory instantly recognized it as the Metro-page where her first column was printed. She rolled her eyes and walked up to her mother to the sound of applause and cheers, taking the clipping an looking out at the guests. She had this one, her first-ever column nearly memorized in her head. She took a deep breath.

"Somewhere, in the continental US, there is a little town," she began. "It is a town in some aspects much like any other smalltown in America, but it differs from all those others in ways I am about to share with you. It is a place easy to miss when driving by, but difficult to forget once you find it. My hometown. It may not offer many memorable sights, no important battle was fought here, though we did have a bunch of guys standing outside one winter night, waiting for a fight that never came. What we have is people; memorable, crazy, wonderful people. My mother, the coffee addict, for example." Rory paused and looked over at Lorelai and Luke. "Don't stop her in the morning unless it is to give her a cup of coffee from the diner. My mother's husband-to-be owns the aforementioned diner. After more than 20 years of knowing her, he is still trying convince my mother, and me, that lettuce essence absorbed by our burgers isn't the same as eating actual lettuce."

She saw Luke give Lorelai an 'I told you so'-look. Rory smiled and turned to Lane, who with Zach sat at a table in front of her.

"My best friend and fellow music lover has floorboards of music that could rival the most well-stocked music store. Seriously. She even has William Shatner in there." Lane nodded appreciatively, and Rory continued down to Babbette and Morey. "My neighbors are a quirky pair. A tall jazzpianist and a barely out of her hippie-years cat lover are the sweetest and most interesting neighbors a girl could have. Not to mention the cute Catwoman has onions that will make color sprout out of your yin yang, whatever that means..."

"They do, doll!" Babbette interjected, giving her a wink.

"If you're hungry, stop by the nearby inn. The chef there is a kitchen goddess." At the table closest to Lorelai and Luke, Sookie patted her cheeks with a handkerchief, while Jackson looked stern, as if trying not to cry this time. "Tell her you want the risotto, it's magical. Should I ever meet any one of you, and find out you've visited my town... You'd better tell me you've eaten the risotto, or lie about having eaten the risotto. The chef's husband is into experimental cultivation. No, not drugs, just unconventional breedings. Rasquat, anyone?"

Here, everyone laughed, because incidentally, the wedding cake had been filled with rasquat compote and topped with chocolate-dipped rasquats.

"Not far away are my grandparents, kind and loving, but with the slightly less charming quirk of never being able to keep a maid for more than a week."

Emily looked slightly embarrassed, while Richard just chuckled heartily, and raised his glass in a touché-sort of move.

"I could go on forever, but some of the town characters require more space than I can offer at present," Rory carried on. "There is always something going on in my town, and to an outside, it's not always easy to unbderstand, so let me give you the basics. The weekly poll for whether me or my mother will first hit a sugar hig on our movie nights runs from Monday to Thursday. My mother is usually a safe bet, unless she's throwing the competition. A faulty Tootsie Rolls/Milk Duds-ratio cause me to puke my guts out, and my mother graciously lost for a month..." She took a moment to look at Luke, then added: "Sorry about that, Luke."

Luke mumbled something that sounded like "I knew it", but Lorelai quickly appeased him with a kiss.

"Town meetings are twice a month, and worth a visit. Beware of flying fries and strange topics. For a display of total lunacy, drop by the dance marathon, and watch as we all turn a little more insane by the hour. Someone once called my hometown a medical experiment the government had forgot about." She gave Jess a pointed look, which he only shrugged his shoulders at. "The jury is still out on that, but what I do know is, that this town has provided me with more wisdom, laughter and love than any of the other cities I've visited. In what other town does a grown man lock himself into a box and has said box suspended over the street? Until next time, try to find me."

Rory's boss had predicted that people would begin writing to the paper, guessing what town Rory wrote about. He'd been right. Already after the first column had run, Metro received ten letters from people who thought they knew for sure where the mysterious column-writer was from. Rory had made it a hobby to address the guesses in short post scriptums after the column, never fully denying or confirming the guesses. Some had been close, as in the right state, but never closer.

Rory folded the clipping as the guests applauded, some with thears in their eyes. When she sat down again next to Jess, he leaned in and whispered: "I still think this is a medical experiment, but..." He glanced over at Lorelai and Luke, his mother and TJ and Cammie, and then added: "But it might be an experiment I'll come to enjoy."

"That's all I ask," Rory whispered back.

And to the beckoning sound of spoons clinking against glasses, they kissed each other, knowing that their long journey back to each other had finally ended, at home.

* * *

**A/N**: One last time: leave some review-love.


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